


Magical Mishaps

by swanqueenfic13



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-04-29 12:12:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 19,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5127143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanqueenfic13/pseuds/swanqueenfic13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While fiddling around with some spells, Emma de-ages herself and Belle, leaving Ruby and Regina to deal with the aftermath. Will they be able to change the girls back? Will they be able to handle two toddlers? Will they even be able to stand working with each other?</p><p> </p><p>Basically just a little fluffy fic I've been working on. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Messed Up Morning

**Chapter 1: The Messed Up Morning**

  
  
  


“Ruby, I need your help,” Emma whispers conspiratorially. She leans over the counter at Granny’s, grabbing Ruby’s wrist as the waitress offers up her morning coffee. Ruby raises an eyebrow, giving her a weird look. “When does your shift end?”

“Uh, I get off at ten, then I have to come back for four, why?” she asks, gently peeling Emma’s hand off of her wrist.

“Meet me at the park, near the duck pond at 11:30. Come alone.” With that, Emma grabs her coffee, leaving a few dollars on the counter, and jogs out the door, presumably to get to the station. Ruby just stares after her.

 

“Yeah, so, Emma was being really weird earlier, and I’m a little afraid to go alone,” Ruby whispers to Belle as they walk into the park. It’s only early October, but a chill has blown into Storybrooke. The leaves are already turning, and the town is a picturesque postcard.

“She wouldn’t do anything really bad,” Belle assures her. “But I don’t mind a walk. Will she send me away, though? She did tell you to come alone.” It takes Ruby a moment to process the question; she loves listening to Belle’s accent.

“Um, uh, maybe? She’ll try, but I’ll fight her if I have to. You’re staying,” Ruby jokes nudging Belle. The shorter woman giggles, and Ruby smiles; she loves Belle’s laugh, too.

“I _told_ you to come _alone_ ,” Emma hisses, leaning out from behind a tree. Belle jumps, startled. “Come _on,_ Ruby!”

“Em, enough with the cloak and dagger routine; you’re freaking me out. Now, what do you need?” Ruby says shortly. Emma sighs dramatically and rolls her eyes.

“Fine. If I needed to do something, something I shouldn’t be doing which would make someone angry, and I wanted you to keep watch for me, to let me know when this someone is coming, would you do it?” Ruby blinks slowly, trying to understand the question.

“Is this a drug deal, or something?” Ruby asks. “I love you, Em, but I won’t keep watch while you do something illegal.” They begin to walk, and Belle notices they’re heading towards the cemetery.

“It’s not illegal. Well,” she amends. “It might be a little illegal, but it won’t hurt anyone!” Emma turns off the path, leading them to her car, parked on the edge of the woods. Belle silently gets in the backseat, content with just listening.

“Emma, cut the crap. What. Do. You. Need?” Ruby asks, clipping the belt buckle.

“Alright, fine. I need to get into Regina’s vault, and I want you to be my watch, so you can warn me if she’s coming,” Emma sighs, taking the back routes, slowing to a stop in the shade behind the cemetery.

“And you can’t ask Regina to get into the vault? You guys are, like, best friends now,” Belle interjects.

“I need to borrow a spell, and if I told her which one, she’d never let me live it down,” Emma grumbles, getting out of her car.

“And you think we won’t ask you about it?” Ruby asks.

“Well, I kind of hoped,” Emma shrugs. “Please? It’s not dangerous, or anything, just a little embarrassing.” Ruby rolls her eyes but nods.

“Fine. I will keep watch, but if I get a fireball to the face, it will be you paying for my medical bills,” she says playfully. “And Belle is going down there with you, to make sure you don’t touch anything you shouldn’t.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Emma scoffs.

“Belle goes with you, or you do this alone,” Ruby says stoutly. Emma sighs dramatically, but nods.

“Okay, let’s go, Belle.”

“I won’t be affected by the spell?” she asks nervously. “It’s not dangerous?”

“Of course not,” Emma scoffs. “If it was, I wouldn’t bother, and I certainly wouldn’t drag anyone else anywhere near it. Now, come on,” she says eagerly, pulling Belle into the mausoleum.

 

It’s creepy down here.

Belle is afraid to sit down anywhere, lest she accidentally trigger some protective enchantment, or knock over a potion, or something. So she stands, twiddling her thumbs as she watches Emma flip through old spell books. Emma doesn’t hesitate, pulling them from shelves, rifling through the pages. Belle cringes, worried she’ll rip a page.

“Do you want me to help you look? Might go faster,” she suggests.

“Uh, sure,” Emma says distractedly. She tosses a book towards Belle.

“I need to know what I’m looking for,” she point out. Emma blushes, biting the inside of her cheek as she looks up.

“Don’t laugh, okay?”

“Never,” Belle promises.

“I’m looking for a spell to get rid of wrinkles. Being the savior is stressful, and I’ve got these worry lines,” she whispers awkwardly.

“Emma, you do not. You look fantastic. You’re fit, you’re healthy, you’re beautiful,” Belle insists earnestly. “You certainly do not need to get rid of anything.”

“You’re sweet, Belle,” Emma laughs, but continues looking through the book. After a moment, she triumphantly shouts, “found it!” Belle comes around to look at the spell over her shoulder. Emma traces it with her finger, and Belle can see her mouthing the words, probably working on the pronunciation.

“Okay, Emma, this looks complicated. Maybe you should wait for Regina, or something,” Belle suggests.

“Oh, no way. She would never let me live it down! I’m fine,” she says simply. She squares her shoulders, and starts to chant. When the faintly golden smoke starts to fill the room, enveloping them both, Belle figures this isn’t supposed to happen. She almost wishes she had just stayed in the library.

 

“Guys, Regina’s car just pulled up,” Ruby hisses, edging her way into the mausoleum. She grimaces, and runs down the stone steps to find the dungeon empty. Books lay open on the table, but Emma and Belle are nowhere to be found.

“Who is in my vault?” Regina calls down the steps. Ruby panics as she hears Regina’s heels clacking on the marble stairs.

“Don’t shoot!” she shouts, sensing the heat of a fireball. She closes her eyes, and puts her hands in front of her face. “It’s just me!”

“Miss Lucas, what are you doing in my vault?” she asks dangerously. Her eyes are narrowed, and Ruby gulps. The deep v-neck on her suit reminds Ruby too much of her Evil Queen days.

“I-I-I, Emma asked me to, uh, keep watch,” she stutters. “And, uh, now-” Regina holds up her hand to silence her, but Ruby throws her hands up defensively again.

“I hear something,” Regina whispers softly. Ruby stands up a little straighter. Finally, she can feel useful. She moves her hair away from her ears, and she hears it, too. She doesn’t know how she missed it the first time around, really. It’s two people, breathing softly, and raggedly. One sounds as if it’s crying. She can smell the salt of the person’s tears. She points around a corner, in a different part of the vault. Regina nods, following her.

When they get closer to this portion, the entire wall lights up red, and Ruby cringes. Hearts beat erratically, their varying pulses tripping over each other, calling out to Regina, begging to be put back in their bodies. Ruby cringes, but the intruders are just around the corner, next to the wall. She and Regina nod to each other, and at the same time, whirl around the corner, trapping the people against it, like heros in an action movie.

They find they have trapped two toddlers in the corner. One has blond hair, one has brown. They’re both dressed strangely, like they tried playing dress-up with their parents’ clothes and nothing else. Ruby peers at them; the blonde wears only a black tank top, long enough to be a dress, and a red flannel shirt, while the brunette wears a familiar white sweater. It’s when the blond girl looks up, her eyes a startlingly familiar green, when she realizes. It seems Regina has come to the same conclusion.

“Emma?” she whispers incredulously.

“Belle?” Ruby adds. The brunette looks up, her big blue eyes filled with tears, and Ruby knows. “No fucking way,” she yelps. Immediately, Belle begins to wail.


	2. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Ruby figure out what to do next.

** Chapter 2: Comfort **

  
  
  


“Good job, Lucas,” Regina snorts before kneeling down. Her voice softens when she leans towards little Belle. “Hey, sweetheart, it’s okay,” she says gently. “I’m Regina. What’s your name?” Little Belle whimpers, her breath hitching as she tries to calm herself.

“B-Belle,” she stutters. Ruby’s heart melts; the accent is even cuter in this tiny voice.

“Come here Belle,” she says, reaching towards her. Belle doesn’t move, but allows Regina to pick her up, resting her head on Regina’s shoulder as she sniffles.

“Emma?” Ruby says softly, trying to mimic Regina’s tone. Emma just buries her head in her knees and draws her knees to her chest. “Emma, my name is Ruby. You don’t have to be scared.” She reaches towards Emma, but the toddler cries out and backs away.

“Here, Belle this is my friend Ruby. Can she hold you?” Regina asks. Without waiting for a real answer, she hands Ruby the toddler and kneels down closer to Emma. Ruby doesn’t quite know how to hold her, and settles for trying to mimic the way Regina did it. It’s not quite as skilled, and Belle seems a little uncomfortable, but the child doesn’t complain as she sucks her thumb, still sniffling. “Emma, my name is Regina. Are you cold?” Regina says gently. Emma nods. “Let’s go get you a blanket, then, okay? Come on.” She reaches out to pick Emma up, but the toddler whimpers and tries to back away, but she’s already pressed up against the wall.

“Ruby, over there, there’s some blankets. Can you grab them?” Regina says, waving her hand. When Ruby turns around, the smoke is dissipating around the blankets that now sit on the table, on top of the books. Ruby struggles to balance Belle with one arm, but manages to toss the blankets deeper into the vault. She squats down and grabs one of the blankets, watching as Regina puts it around Emma’s shoulders, swaddling her. She takes the other blanket, a beautiful soft yellow cloth, and wraps it around Belle, basically hugging her as she wraps her in the blanket, and picks her up. This time, it’s a little easier, and Belle wraps her legs around Ruby’s waist. When she looks over, Ruby sees Emma has hesitantly allowed Regina to pick her up.

“Okay, let’s get them back into town. They need some real clothes, and a bath, and probably lunch, knowing Emma’s stomach,” Regina explains softly to Ruby, leading the werewolf out of the vault. When they get out into the cemetery, Belle gasps in Ruby’s arms.

“It’s okay,” Ruby says quickly. She tries to figure out how to explain this to the child.

“Papa,” she whimpers, burying her head in Ruby’s shoulder. “Want mama.” Her voice is so small, so broken, and so sad. Ruby wants to start crying.

“They asked us to take care of you,” Ruby lies. “They had to go away for a while.” Regina just shakes her head.

“Too much to explain,” she mouths over Emma’s head. Ruby nods, keeping Belle’s head pressed into her shoulder.

“Let’s go to my house,” Regina says brightly. Emma nods, sticking her thumb in her mouth as she leans her head against Regina’s chest. Taking that as a resounding affirmative, they begin to walk.

 

They had ended up walking all the way to Mifflin street. Belle had panicked when she saw the car, unfamiliar with this world’s technology, and Regina didn’t have car seats, nor did she want to have a panicking, squirming toddler unrestrained in a moving vehicle. Ruby didn’t complain, but her feet were killing her by the time they got to the house. The kids’ eyes widened as they approached; Emma’s was probably from never having seen a house so big, and Belle’s was either from never having seen a castle so small, or never having seen such a strange looking castle.

“So, now what?” Ruby asks. Regina sighs, unlocking the door with one hand while still cradling Emma with the other. Ruby envies the ease with which she does this.

“Now, we give them a bath,” she says simply. Ruby sees Emma pout, but says nothing about it.

“Um,” Ruby says hesitantly, following Regina up the stairs and into what appears to be her own bedroom. It’s big, and opulent, and feels like something she might find in the enchanted forest; not in her and Granny’s cottage, but probably in Regina’s home. “You don’t think this is a little weird?”

“What? That we have to bathe our best friends, who’ve been accidentally turned into toddlers? No, not weird at all,” Regina scoffs sarcastically. Ruby smiles, knowing Regina is capable of making a joke. “But, in all honesty, yes, it is weird. But, they’re just kids, and they don’t know it should be awkward for them, and they need someone to take care of them.”

“Mama,” Belle whimpers. Regina starts to run the water, and Ruby bounces from side to side, hugging Belle to try and get her to stop crying.

“So, how do we change them back?” Ruby asks, putting Belle on the ground next to Emma. Both girls look at her with their big, teary eyes, and their thumbs in their mouths.

“No back!” Emma protests.

“Later, Ruby,” Regina whispers. “Come on, girlies, bath time!” she says brightly.

 

After they washed the girls, Ruby had made them grilled cheese, a foreign concept for poor Belle, and Regina had put them in some pajamas she created while Ruby cooked. After the lunch, they had put the girls down for a nap in Regina’s bed and went down to the study to discuss the situation. Regina put a spell on the bedroom so that she’d know if the girls got up, or tried to get out of the bed.

“So, what _exactly_ were you doing breaking into my vault?” Regina asks, leaning back in her desk chair. Ruby blushes a little.

“Emma wanted help with something, but she wouldn’t tell me what. She wanted to use your spell book, but was afraid if she asked that you’d mock her, so she asked me to keep watch,” she explains, cringing as Regina’s eyebrows raise higher and higher.

“What spell?”

“Hmm?”

“What spell did she want to use?” Regina asks, over enunciating, making Ruby feel like an idiot.

“She wouldn’t tell us,” Ruby mumbles, getting more embarrassed by the second. Regina sighs heavily and rolls her eyes.

“Okay, well that could make this infinitely more difficult. I’m assuming something went wrong with the spell. Knowing Emma,” Regina chuckles, “it was probably pronunciation. She always thinks she what she’s doing. Idiot.”

“So, what do we do?”

“ _We_?” Regina laughs. “No, _we_ don’t do anything. _I_ will go back to my vault, figure out what they did, and try to figure out how to fix it. _You_ will stay here and babysit.” Regina rises to her feet, smiling at Ruby, leading her out of the office.

“Oh no!” Ruby protests. “Oh no, no, no. I suck at- at- at this! At kids! I couldn’t even hold Belle before, you had to do diaper thing because I couldn’t, and every time I speak around them, one of them cries!” At this exact moment, a faint crying can be heard.

“Perfect time to test out your skills,” Regina smiles, pointing up the stairs. She starts to walk away, but a desperate Ruby grabs her wrist.

“Please, Regina, I really can’t. I don’t know what to do,” she whispers. Regina softens for a moment, looking at how wide Ruby’s eyes are. She holds back a comment about the big bad wolf being terrified of pups, and sighs gently.

“Go upstairs, pick up whichever one is crying- I think it’s Belle- and hug her. Rock her back and forth. Soothe her. Whether that means singing a lullaby, telling a story, or just talking. Calm her down, and put her back to sleep. If you have problems after trying all that, call your grandmother. She was helpful when I had troubles with Henry.” Ruby nods, grateful to have a list of things to do. She likes having a specific list of tasks. With that, Regina disappears in a puff of purple smoke, leaving Ruby alone to steel her nerves and go upstairs to confront the crying toddler.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are a girl's best friend!


	3. Troubling Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Regina tries to figure out how to reverse this, and Ruby learns how to deal with two toddlers.

**Chapter 3: Troubling Times**

  
  
  


“Oh, hey Belle,” Ruby says softly, scooping up the crying little girl. Regina had built a fortress of pillows on the bed, keeping the girls in the center, so Ruby had to stand on her toes just to get a good grip on Belle. Regina had put Belle’s hair into two little braids before she went to sleep, and given her yellow pajamas with ducks on them. Ruby thought it was adorable, but couldn’t be happy seeing the tears on her face, her red, puffy eyes, and her thumb in her mouth, just barely muffling the whimpers.

“Where mama?” she whimpers as Ruby picks her up, lays the girl on her chest, and proceeds to walk out into the hall, so as not to disturb Emma.

“Oh, baby girl,” Ruby whispers. She doesn’t know what to say, really. She knows that Belle’s mom died when she was a teenager, and no one knew where Moe was; the town had been back and forth so many times, and plenty of people had been left in the Enchanted Forest from the various trips. “Oh, honey, it’s okay,” she says softly. She feels ridiculous, trying to bounce back and forth on her heels as she walks.

“Ma-ama,” she continues to cry. “Want m-mama.”

“Oh, Belle, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Ruby doesn’t know what else to say. “Did you have a bad dream?” Belle begins to wail louder, and Ruby cringes, cursing inwardly. _Uh, what else did Regina suggest? A song?_ Naturally, the only songs Ruby can think of are completely inappropriate for children, songs she’s heard on the radio. _Think of what Granny used to sing._ But Granny wasn’t much for singing, or lullabyes.

She can tell she’s gotten better at holding Belle when she shifts her to one hip, holding on with one hand, searching for some good lullaby songs on her phone with the other. Looking over the suggestions, she wants to slap herself for not thinking of them. She clears her throat; she’s not a great singer, but she has to try.

“ _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,_ ” she sings softly. She stops walking, just sort of rocking Belle in time to the music. “ _You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”_ She can feel Belle slowly relaxing, resting easier against her shoulder. Ruby shifts her again, balancing Belle’s weight across both arms.

“Mama,” she whimpers one more time.

“I know, baby girl,” Ruby whispers. She starts to hum the same song, and continues rocking her back and forth until her breathing evens out, and she’s fallen back asleep.

 

“Of course,” Regina sighs dramatically, looking at the mess in her vault. Books are strewn everywhere, left open on random pages. Some have fallen on the floor. Regina knows she’ll never be able to figure out what spell they were looking for. She would wring Emma’s neck if she could, for leaving her vault such a mess- and for breaking in in the first place!- but that would do no good.

“Okay, can’t work backwards. I guess I’ll have to just… find a cure. Reverse the spell,” Regina mumbles to herself. “Okay, do some research on age-reversal. Good first step.” She picks up a book from the floor and starts flipping through it.

After an hour of going through the book, she slams it closed, frustrated. She glances down at her watch, wondering how Ruby is doing.

“Crap,” she mutters softly, seeing how long she’s been away. She wonders if the girls are up, and what Ruby’s doing with them if they are. A little worried about how nervous the poor girl was when she left, Regina hurries out to her car, breaking every speed limit as she drives home.

“Ruby?” she calls into the house, her voice echoing. She hurriedly runs up the stairs to her bedroom, afraid that the girls had hurt themselves or something. She breathes a sigh of relief upon opening her door. Ruby is in the bed with the girls, Belle sound asleep next to her, snuggling into her arm, one thumb hooked in her mouth. Emma is on Ruby’s chest, her tangle of curls blocking Ruby’s face from Regina’s view. She can hear hushed whispering, and can see Ruby casually brushing Emma’s hair with her fingers, tracing patterns on her back every so often. When Regina closes the door, Ruby shifts, and looks at Regina, blushing a little, closing her mouth. Emma groans in protest, but Ruby just stands, keeping the girl against her for a moment before putting her back in the bed, tucking the blanket tightly around her. She nods her head for them to go outside, and Regina leads her out into the hallway.

“Any trouble?” she asks softly.

“Nah, they both woke up, but I got ‘em back to sleep,” Ruby says, groaning a little as she stretches. She had started to fall asleep when she was holding Emma, trying to get the girl calm.

“See? Told you it wasn’t that hard,” Regina says, smiling.

“How about you? Did you figure out how to change them back?” Regina grimaces.

“No,” she grumbles. “I couldn’t even figure out which spell they were trying to use. The place was a mess. It could be a while before we can get them back to norm-” They’re interrupted by a crash and a wail from inside the bedroom. Regina is in there first, and sees Emma on the floor, clutching her head and wailing.

“O-o-ow,” she wails, and now Belle is sitting up, watching Emma scream.

“Oh, Emma honey, did you fall off the bed?” Regina coos, scooping the girl up. Emma continues to whimper, nodding at her.

“Should we take her to Whale?” Ruby asks nervously. Belle cries out to her holding out her arms, so Ruby picks her up.

“No, she’ll be fine,” Regina assures Ruby before rocking Emma slightly to try and calm her down.

“But she’s still crying!” Ruby points out. “What if it’s a concussion?”

“Unlikely,” Regina says gently, and Emma starts to calm down. “It probably just scared her, but we can keep an eye on her. Ah, see? She’s better now.” Emma sniffles, hiccuping, but smiles up at Regina. A thought suddenly strikes Ruby.

“How old are they?”

Regina pauses, trying to estimate. “A little under two, maybe? They can talk a little, but not much, and they can both walk, so that’s a good indicator.”

“Damn,” Ruby hisses. Belle gives her a scandalized look, and Ruby grins toothily at the toddler. Another thought occurs to her. “Should we tell Snow and David?”

“Ugh, yes,” Regina groans.

“Snow White?” Emma gasps. Ruby laughs; that’s the most she’s heard Emma talk. She then starts to babble happily, and Ruby doubts she’s seriously hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review! I'm feeling some eventual Swan Queen and Red Beauty, so prepare yourselves for that.


	4. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone starts to explore the concepts of family

Chapter 4: Family

  
  
  


“Regina? Regina, what’s wrong?” Mary Margaret shouts, running into the Mayor’s office, panicked. Regina meets her at the door, pushing her back into the hallway and leaving the door open just a crack.

“Relax, Snow,” she hisses, glancing back into the office. Ruby is on the floor, coloring with the girls.

“Well, forgive me, Regina, but you don’t call me into your office saying ‘we need to talk about Emma’ when everything’s fine,” she whispers back harshly. The teacher cranes her neck trying to see into the office. “Is Emma in there?”

“There was a, a mishap,” Regina explains, blocking the door. “Emma was fiddling around in my vault with Belle, and accidentally turned herself, and Ms. French, into toddlers. I tried to figure out what they did, but it’ll take longer than I thought. Ruby and I figured you might want to know.”

“Ruby?” Snow asks, again trying to peer into the office. “Why’d you call Ruby before me?”

“I didn’t,” Regina says, enunciating her syllables. Snow rolls her eyes. “Ruby was with them; she was their guard dog.” Snow tenses when she hears a peal of laughter from the room. “I will, uh, I’ll go introduce you. Please, Snow, remember that she doesn’t know you at this age. All she knows are foster homes,” Regina whispers. Snow nods, so she opens the door to the office.

“Super Belle!” Ruby laughs. When they walk in, Emma is on the ground giggling, and Ruby is standing over her, tossing Belle up into the air (without ever _actually_ letting go, Regina notes proudly).

“Ruby,” Regina interrupts. Ruby turns, grinning, and balances Belle on one hip, reaching down to put Emma on the other. “Mary Margaret would like to meet our friends,” she says pointedly. Ruby nods, bringing the girls over to the door.

“Emma, Belle, this is my friend Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret, meet Emma and Belle,” Ruby says softly. Belle hides her face in Ruby’s shoulder. Emma shrinks down into Ruby’s arms, but peeks out at Mary Margaret, who looks like she’s about to cry. Regina nudges her.

“H-hello,” she says, holding out a hand to Emma. After a moment watching her, Emma reaches out with both hands, squirming for Mary Margaret to hold her. The beaming woman embraces her daughter, holding her to her chest.

“Well,” Ruby whispers to Regina. “That was fast.”

“She was a foster kid. She probably learned to adapt to new parents very quickly,” Regina explains. Ruby nods, accepting this, and Regina is grateful because she pulled that explanation out of her ass.

“You totally pulled that out of your ass, didn’t you?” Ruby snickers softly.

“No,” Regina glares. Ruby laughs again, startling Emma. “Okay, maybe I did,” Regina admits.

 

“So, now what?” Mary Margaret asks. Emma was holding her hand, squirming around, jumping on every fallen leaf as they walked through town, headed towards Granny’s. They were meeting David there, and Granny was going to close down the diner so they could all talk about the, er, situation at hand.

“Now, we go eat dinner,” Regina sighs. “And while the kids are eating, we figure out what the hell to do about this.”

“Well, she is our daughter, and we won’t pass up the opportunity to raise her,” Mary Margaret points out. Regina rolls her eyes.

“Well, that is why I called you.” Mary Margaret purses her lips and they walk the rest of the way in silence. Naturally, leading two toddlers through the center of town leads to quite a few turned heads. After many glares and harsh looks from Regina, people stop asking.

Belle is much quieter than Emma is, and chooses to spend the entire walk with her head buried in the crook of Ruby’s shoulder. Ruby doesn’t blame her: it’s probably a terrifying experience for a child to go from life in the Enchanted Forest straight into this world (at least, from her point of view it was immediate). When a car came zooming by the group, Belle had actually screamed and cried, so Ruby walked on the inside of the sidewalk, as far away from the street as possible. She looked up in wonderment when they entered the diner, and the bell tinkled over the door.

“Bell!” she giggles quietly, touching Ruby’s face and pointing up towards the bell. Ruby grins goofily.

“Belle,” she laughs, pointing at the girl’s chest. Belle giggles, and squirms to be put down. Ruby obliges, letting her run ahead to crawl up into a booth next to Emma.

“What the hell did you put in my drink, Granny. One beer should not have me seeing things,” Leroy grumbles, looking from the booth to Granny. She sighs and comes out from behind the counter.

“Alright, people, we’ve got to close early due to yet _another_ magical mishap,” she announces. “Settle up your tabs tomorrow.” Several people groan, and Ruby can hear the dwarves all grumbling as everyone files out. Each and every one of them stared at the girls as they walked by. Thankfully, the girls were too absorbed in the toy cars Granny had left out for them to notice all the attention on them.

“So, do we wait for David?” Mary Margaret asks. They gather themselves around the booth, dragging a table on to allow room for everyone. Belle crawls under the table and climbs up onto Ruby’s lap, nuzzling her head into her chest.

“No need, I’m here,” he says, popping out from the back hallway, drying his hands on his pants. “Sorry, bathroom.”

“Daddy!” Emma cries out, lunging out of the booth to hug him. For a moment, he just stands there, but when she jumps, launching her arms out at him, he reacts, hugging her.

“Well, I suppose that settles who _she’ll_ be staying with,” Granny chuckles, pouring coffee for all the adults. Regina just raises her eyebrows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be honest with you guys: this started as a better idea than it's turning out to be. I'm not so sure where it's going. I'm kind of hoping I'll find my way somewhere eventually.
> 
> Moving on: thoughts on this chapter?


	5. Settling In

**Chapter 5: Settling In**

  
  
  


“Alright, fine. Emma stays with the Charmings. What about Belle?” Ruby asks, running her fingers through the girl’s hair. When she hears her name, she perks up, looking at Ruby.

“Mummy?” she whispers hopefully.

“No, baby girl,” Ruby whispers.

“Want papa,” she whines. Biting her lip, Ruby stands and takes the girl into the back hallway to calm the mounting tantrum.

“I think Ruby should take care of Belle,” Regina says as soon as the woman is out of sight. “She and Belle have bonded.”

“Ruby’s never had to take care of a child before,” David points out.

“She lives here at the inn. That’s no place to raise a girl,” Granny adds.

“She works two jobs,” Mary Margaret chimes in.

“She and Belle have bonded,” Regina repeats. “And the poor girl is having a hard enough time in a new realm without either of her parents. Ruby has been a constant, and they are good for each other. She is capable of more than we give her credit for. Give Ruby a chance to take care of her, and she’ll show us what she’s made of.”

“She lives in the inn,” Granny repeats slowly, leaning on the table to look at Regina. For a moment, the only motion is Emma, babbling nonsensically and playing with the forks.

“Where would you propose Belle go?” Regina finally asks, raising her eyebrow. “Gold is, well, who knows? He’s on the other side of the line, and frankly, no one wants to know where he is. Her mother is dead. Her father is probably still in the Enchanted Forest; hell, he could be dead, too, for all we know. The Charmings already have Neal, and now little Emma-” Emma looks up and grins at Regina when she hears her name. “- so they can’t be asked to take Belle in, too. Who else? Granny, you’re running a diner, and an inn. I would, but if you want me to find a solution to this situation, I can’t be caring for another toddler, in addition to my teenaged son.” Ruby and Belle re enter quietly at this moment. Belle is hiccuping, and her face is red, but she is no longer crying. “Ruby, would you be willing to take care of our friend, here?” Regina asks. Ruby widens her eyes, stopping in front of the table.

“Um,” she stutters. “I mean, yeah. She’s, and I, um, I know, so- uh, um, yes.” Regina closes her eyes for a moment, holding back her sigh. She smiles at Ruby.

“Great. For the time being, you and Belle will stay at my house. When I find an antidote, I want her close by. Snow, David, you can handle a brand new toddler?” Regina asks.

“She’s our daughter,” David says, as if this is supposed to explain everything. Regina can’t hold in her sigh, or stop her eyes from rolling.

“Do you have a place for her to sleep? A car seat? Clothes? Food? Uh, a toothbrush? Her blanket? Anything practical?”

“We literally just found out about this an hour ago,” Mary Margaret points out defensively. “We’ll get that stuff when we leave here.”

“Where’s Neal’s stroller?” Regina says, trying to keep the snark out of her voice.

“With Neal. At Ashley’s daycare,” David grunts, sensing her condescension. Regina just rolls her eyes and waves her hand.

“Congrats. It’s now a stroller for two. When you pick him up, Emma can also sit in the stroller, and you can go shopping for the necessities. Ruby and I will go do the same for Belle. Is that okay with everyone?” Too afraid to respond verbally, everyone just nods. Regina stands, and Ruby follows obediently.

“Bye-bye!” Emma calls after them. “Bye Mama!” Regina just laughs as the door slams. And David thought he was _special_.

 

“Remind me again, why couldn’t we just do this with magic?” Ruby grunts as she hoists the bulky bed-crib-hybrid-thing up the stairs. Regina follows after her with Belle.

“Because, I like to stimulate the local economy,” Regina shrugs. “And, I trust Marco’s workmanship.”

“Okay, but you couldn’t put it in the room with magic because…?” Ruby asks. Regina shrugs, even though Ruby can’t see it.

“This is more fun?” she asks. Ruby growls, and she can feel her body close to shifting. As she passes the mirror in the hall, she sees her eyes glowing yellow. She uses the opportunity to borrow her wolf’s extra strength and haul the bed in quickly, kicking open the guest room door and rolling it into the corner. Once it’s set, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, keeping the wolf at bay. When she turns around, she sees Belle glancing curiously around at the room.

“Hey, Elly-Belly,” Ruby whispers, tickling Belle. She giggles, reaching out to Ruby. Ruby happily takes her from Regina, snuggling the girl close to her. “Let’s go downstairs.” To Regina, she whispers, “I’m glad she’s starting to adjust.” Regina nods. They’d gone in and out of several stores, and though Belle still buried her face in Ruby’s shoulder whenever someone tried to catch her eye, she didn’t cry at every foreign noise.

“So, now that all the heavy stuff is upstairs, can you use magic for the rest?” Ruby whines. Regina laughs, waving her hand. Presumably, the rest of the bags in the car had been poofed upstairs. “What are we doing about dinner?” Regina just shakes her head, grinning as she beckons the girls to follow her into the kitchen.

 

Regina waits until Belle has been put to sleep in her new room before she shows Ruby to the guest room where she’ll be staying. Ruby hadn’t brought much: she didn’t own much. It took her about ten minutes to transfer her clothes from the canvas rucksack into the closet, and the only other personal touch she added was draping a red knit blanket over the bedspread. It was similar to Emma’s baby blanket, embroidered with her name in careful white stitching. Once this was done, Ruby rounded to find Regina still leaning on the doorway.

“Can I ask you something?” Ruby asks boldly.

“You just did,” Regina points out. Ruby rolls her eyes.

“Not that. Something else,” she specifies.

“I suppose,” Regina says, shrugging as she enters the room and folds herself elegantly into the arm chair next to the mirror. Ruby flops onto the bed, as graceful as an elephant.

“Why am I staying here?” Regina blinks, unsure how to answer. Ruby casts her eyes at the floor, realizing.

“They didn’t think I could take care of Belle,” she says sadly. “They were worried, so they made you take me in, so you could keep an eye on me.”

“No, not exactly,” Regina explains delicately.

“Don’t lie to spare my feelings, Regina. I’m a big girl, I can take it,” Ruby scoffs.

“They were worried,” Regina admits. “Mostly because you’ve never taken care of a child before, and you live at the inn. They felt the hotel wasn’t the best place to care for a child. But Belle loves you, and it’s not a good idea to separate her when she’s already fragile. So, since their main concern was your living arrangement, I offered a new one.” Ruby tilts her head, unsure of how to respond to this.

“I-” She stops. “Thank you.” She can’t explain why this feels so important, but it is. Something about Belle, this fragile, vulnerable, sweet little girl, is like a magnet, drawing Ruby in. She can’t even imagine what she would have said if they had tried to take her away. Adult-Belle was beautiful, but she was more powerful, more self-assured, stronger. Little-Belle was gentler, and more easily frightened, alone in a strange world. Ruby didn’t want her to ever be afraid.

“Don’t mention it,” Regina says softly, patting Ruby’s knee as she stands. She stops in the doorway. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” she says, leaving Ruby alone, thankfully pretending not to notice the tears streaming down her face.


	6. Tantrums, and Playdates, and Stories, Oh My!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ruby, Regina, Snow, and David are trying (and maybe failing?) to raise two toddlers.

Chapter 6: Tantrums, and Playdates, and Stories, Oh My!

  
  
  


Ruby is the first to hear it.

Her wolf senses are more acute, picking up the whimpers, faint as they are, and wake Ruby. She stumbles out of the bed, dressed only in her white nightshirt, the frayed hem falling just below her hips. It takes her a moment to remember where she is, and she spends too long disoriented in the hallway: the whimpers get more frantic, and she can smell the salt of tears falling. Ruby is more awake now, and she rushes into Belle’s room.

She picks up the toddler, cradling her to her chest. In sleep, her fists strike out, but within moments, her eyes flutter open.

“Papa?” Belle cries, her voice breaking. She looks around, seeing only Ruby, and she starts to sob, her chest heaving.

“Oh, Belle, I’m so sorry,” she whispers.

“Papa,” she wails. The cries are loud enough to wake Regina, now, and the woman stumbles into the room, still half-asleep. Ruby tries to rock Belle back to sleep, but she’s worked herself up now. Ruby cringes at the volume of her wails so close to her ear, and Regina offers to take her for a moment. Ruby hesitates: it feels like a failure to hand her over so quickly. But, Regina does have more experience, and she doesn’t want Belle to make herself sick, so she hands her over.

It doesn’t seem possible, but her cries get louder when Regina takes her. Her words are nonsensical and garbled now, but Ruby can see Belle reaching out for her, so she takes her back. She doesn’t stop crying, and her chest still heaves with every sob, but she doesn’t fight Ruby’s embrace.

“Maybe we can give her a bottle of milk, or something,” Regina mumbles. She waves her hand, and a bottle appears. She tests the milk on her skin briefly before giving it to Ruby. The bottle is warm, but Belle shoves it away. Ruby hands the bottle back to Regina and takes a few steps away, still rocking Belle as she takes a deep breath.

“ _Lavenders blue, dilly dilly, lavenders green. When you are king, dilly dilly, I shall be queen,_ ” Ruby sings softly; she hates when other people hear her sing, but Belle loves it. She quiets for a moment, and Ruby smiles, but then Belle throws up on her. “Oh, Belle,” she sighs. Belle sniffles and hiccups, each breath hitching, but she is no longer sobbing. Belle nuzzles her head into Ruby’s chest, still quietly whimpering. “Oh, Belle,” Ruby protests. “You’re getting all-” Regina cuts her off by shaking her head violently.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up,” Regina says gently, pulling Ruby’s elbow, leading her into the nearest bathroom. “Henry used to do this sometimes. The bath helped relax him, get him back to sleep,” she explains. Once the water has run sufficiently, and Regina has added lavender scented soap, Ruby tries to put Belle in, but the girl cries out, clinging to Ruby’s vomit-covered shirt.

“What do I do?” Ruby whispered frantically.

“Get in with her,” Regina suggests, her face steadily growing redder. “Keep your… undergarments on, but get in with her.” Ruby can feel a blush creeping down her entire body, but she kicks off her socks, and works to slip out of the shirt as Regina works to pull of Belle’s pajamas while keeping the girl close to Ruby. Once they’ve worked Belle out of her pajamas, Ruby thanks every god, deity, spirit, and being out there that she went to bed in a sports bra. Regina avoids Ruby’s gaze, focusing very determinedly on Belle, as the two descend into the water.

“Now what?” Ruby asks, staring at the water. She isn’t normally this shy about her body, but combined with the fact that little Belle is stark naked, lying against her, Ruby is more than a little awkward. She’s not going to lie and say she hasn’t thought about having Belle’s naked body flush with hers, but this sure as hell wasn’t how she wanted it to happen.

“Get her into the water, try and separate yourselves, and wash her off. Once she’s clean, I’ll get her dressed, and you can clean yourself off,” Regina explains softly. Belle sniffles softly, hiccuping, and Ruby sighs.

 

It takes an hour to get Belle cleaned off and into a fresh pair of pajamas. Ruby takes five minutes rinsing herself off in the shower, deciding she’d be taking a better shower in the morning, and puts on a pair of old sweatpants and a blue t-shirt she had once borrowed from Emma, and hurries into Belle’s room, taking the girl from Regina. She hadn’t started to cry yet, but she was fussing.

“No, no, none of that,” Ruby says softly. She rocks Belle as she walks, humming softly. “What time is it?” she asks, easing herself into the rocking chair, careful to keep Belle nestled in the crook of her neck.

“Early,” Regina replies shortly, collapsing on the floor, leaning against the wall across from the chair. She had forgotten how tiring the midnight wake up calls were.

“Mmmm,” Ruby agrees, closing her eyes as she rocks the chair. “ _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,_ ” she sings softly, no longer caring if Regina can hear her. Ruby sings the song over and over until her eyes close, her breathing evens, and she falls asleep.

 

“Please tell me you had a better night than we did,” Snow groans, practically falling into the booth at the Diner. As soon as they sat down, Emma toddled off to join Belle on the floor where she was scribbling with her crayons.

“Depends,” Ruby groans. “How long were you up?”

“She refused to go to sleep, cried whenever we tried to leave the room. We finally ended up falling asleep near eleven on the couch with her,” David explains, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “Then, when Neal woke up at two to be fed, Emma freaked out, and it took half an hour to calm her down.”

“Belle worked herself into a state last night. Threw a half hour long temper tantrum that ended in her throwing up. Took an hour to get her calm enough and clean her up, then another half hour to fall asleep,” Regina mumbles, clinging to her coffee cup like it’s the only thing keeping her alive.

“God, is this what Neal’s gonna be like in a few months?” Snow moans, looking over into the carriage where the boy is gurgling happily, sucking on his toy giraffe.

“How close are we to reversing this?” Ruby asks. Regina rolls her eyes.

“I spent most of yesterday with you, getting the girls settled in. I’ll be working on it today, unless you need any more assistance,” she replies too harshly. Ruby flinches.

“No, I can do it,” she insists.

“I’ll get someone to cover your shifts at the station today, Rubes. Maybe you can babysit Emma while Mary Margaret is teaching?” David says hopefully. Ruby suppresses a groan; she had forgotten that today was Monday, and Snow would be unavailable for child care, leaving her alone with the girls.

“Sure,” she finally replies. They grin at her. Suddenly, the bell above the door chimes.

“Mom!” Henry cries out, running over to the table. Regina freezes: she hadn’t told Henry about Emma, yet. Ruby turns and watches as he makes eye contact with his other mother, or rather, a younger version of her. “Mom?” he says more hesitantly, looking at Emma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews, suggestions, prompts? Anything? How's your day going?


	7. Babysitter's Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mom, what’s going on?” Henry asks again, looking from Emma and Belle to Regina. She stands. “Is this why you had Nick’s dad pick me up from the stables? And why you let me sleep over on a school night?” His voice squeaks in his confusion.  
> “Henry, let’s go talk somewhere else,” Regina says quickly, trying to usher him back out of the diner. He struggles against her.  
> “Is that my Ma?” He asks, struggling to look past her. “Emma?” He shouts. The child looks up, and smiles at him, waving.

**Chapter 7: Babysitters’ Club**

  
  
  


“Mom, what’s going on?” Henry asks again, looking from Emma and Belle to Regina. She stands. “Is this why you had Nick’s dad pick me up from the stables? And why you let me sleep over on a school night?” His voice squeaks in his confusion.

“Henry, let’s go talk somewhere else,” Regina says quickly, trying to usher him back out of the diner. He struggles against her.

“Is that my Ma?” He asks, struggling to look past her. “Emma?” He shouts. The child looks up, and smiles at him, waving. Henry stops fighting, just waving at her, dumbstruck.

“Come on, Henry. I promise I’ll explain,” Regina says softly. He lets her lead him out onto the sidewalk.

“What happened?” he asks softly, still looking through the window. Regina shifts, positioning herself in front of the window, forcing Henry to look at her.

“Your mother was fooling around in my vault, and tried a spell. Something went wrong, and she and Belle were changed into toddler versions of themselves. I’m trying to figure out how to change them back, but it might take some time. And for that time, Ruby and Belle will be staying with us, and Emma will be staying with her parents,” Regina explains delicately. Henry sighs.

“Magic is weird,” he whispers. Regina can’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, it is,” she agrees, throwing her arm around her son’s shoulders. “Now, how about we get some breakfast, and I’ll take you to school?”

“Okay!” he says brightly, bounding back into the diner.

 

“Hi mama,” Emma says happily when Ruby picks her up, balancing her on one hip while Belle remains on the other. Snow had left to drop Neal off at daycare, David had to go start his shift, and Regina took Henry to school, leaving Ruby to corral the girls and find something to do with them for the day.

“No, I’m not Mama,” Ruby explains patiently, for the twelfth time. Emma has taken to calling everyone “mama” or “papa.” Regina said it probably had something to do with growing up in the foster system, and having a revolving door of parental figures. “I’m Ruby. Say it with me, Emma. Ru-by,” she says, enunciating the syllables of her name.

“Wuby!” Belle squeals happily. Ruby rolled her eyes, but smiled as she walked out of the diner, happy to see Regina had magically expanded the stroller they had purchased for Belle so that Emma could fit, as well. She puts both girls on the sidewalk and straps Belle in first.

“Not you, cutie. I know you can say my name,” she whispers, tapping Belle on the nose. The girl dissolves in a fit of giggles. She turns to lift Emma into the stroller. “Ru-by,” she tries again.

“Mama!” Emma shouts.

“Ruby.”

“Mama.”

“No, _Ruby_.”

“Mama?”

“ _Ru_ - _by_.”

“Ooobee?” Emma tries, dragging out the vowels. Ruby cheers triumphantly, kissing Emma’s cheek.

“Wuby!” Belle pouts. Ruby laughs and kisses her cheek, too.

“Where are we going, pups?” Ruby asks, standing and pushing the stroller down the sidewalk. She considers the library, but both girls seem to have too much energy to sit quietly. “Wanna go play at the park?” She asks, not really listening for an answer. “Belle, the park is like, um,” she searches for a memory from her time in the Enchanted Forest, but her experience growing up was vastly different from Belle’s. She grew up in a cottage, in the woods with Granny. She played in the forest, and in the meadows, and sometimes in the town square. Belle grew up in a castle, and Ruby had no idea where she played. “It’s a really fun place to play,” Ruby finally says.

“Ooby,” Emma cries happily, repeating the word as they walk. Ruby briefly wonders if getting her to say her name was the smartest idea. But eventually, they get to the playground, and Emma stops talking. When she peers around the stroller, Ruby laughs, seeing Emma’s jaw has dropped as she looks around. After the curse broke, and more people started having kids, Regina added another park, outfitting it with two playgrounds: one suited for older children, and another for younger ones. Just a short walk away is the duck pond, and Ruby wishes she could be on her daily run, but this stroller isn’t suited for that, and her sneakers are at the inn.

“Alright, my little pups,” Ruby says, steering the girls toward the smaller playground. “Let’s play,” she grins, taking the girls out of the stroller.

 

They played there for two whole hours before Belle’s energy began to ebb.

“Wuby,” she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes, holding her arms out to the brunette. Ruby happily picked her up, glancing around and calling out to Emma. The blonde ran over as fast as her short, stubby legs would allow her.

“Pay! Pay!” she cried out, pulling on Ruby’s leg.

“No, munchkin,” Ruby chuckles. “No, time to go home.” She turns to put Belle in the stroller, and hears Emma stomp her foot. Ruby whips around to see the blonde pouting, her lower lip wobbling.

“Pay, Ooby,” she requests softly, stifling a yawn.

“After, I promise,” Ruby says, picking Emma up and kissing her cheek before putting her back down in the stroller. “Let’s go to storytime,” she says, setting off for the library.

 

“And they all lived happily ever after,” Ruby finishes with a flourish. Belle giggles, patting the storybook.

“More!” she exclaims. Ruby grins, picking up another book. Emma rested against Ruby’s side, content to look at the pictures, occasionally crawling away to find a toy or something to play with, but the children’s room was small, and she was never out of Ruby’s sight.

“Just one more,” Ruby agrees. Someone’s stomach growls audibly, and Ruby suspects it’s Emma, based on the girl’s giggle. “And then we get lunch to feed the tiger in Emma’s tummy,” she adds, tickling the blonde. Settling back against the wall, she opens the book. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess,” she starts.

 

“Ruby, I need your help!” Granny cries desperately. Ruby’s eyes widen as she takes in the horde of people sitting in the diner. As far as she can see, it’s only Granny working. “Cassidy called in sick, and I’m by myself here.” Ruby groans, knowing the young waitress probably just didn’t feel like coming in today.

“Granny, I’ve got the girls,” she says, gesturing to the girls clinging to each of her legs. “I can’t just leave them, and they’re hungry.”

“Look, Ruby, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need you. I’m swamped. Put the girls in high chairs, leave them with some toys, or something, and I’ll whip them up some lunch. I just need help getting food to tables,” Granny begs. Ruby sighs, spotting the diner’s only two high chairs, dragging them over to the edge of the counter where Ruby can watch them.

“Stay here,” she says, dropping a kiss on each girl’s head. She leaves them each with a handful of crayons, and a couple of toy cars Snow had left in the stroller. Belle pouts as Ruby bustles around, putting food in front of hungry, grumpy customers. Emma happily plays with the cars, smashing them into each other, and eventually, Belle gets curious, and mimics her actions. When Granny brings over little bottles of juice, the girls are giggling, barely even noticing her.

After an hour of serving, Ruby collapses on a stool next to the girls who sat with food smeared all over their faces, and in their hair. Granny had given them mac and cheese, a dangerous food for toddlers to feed themselves. Ruby groans, knowing she’ll have to clean them up before they can take a nap.

By the time she wrestles the girls out of the tub, into fresh diapers and clean pajamas, they are yawning. She puts them both in Belle’s bed, tucking them in together. Emma’s thumb immediately goes into her mouth. Belle wraps her arms around the edge of the blanket, clinging to it. Ruby smiles at the sleeping children, and heads into her own guest room to pass out on the bed, above the covers, not even having a chance to take off her shoes before she’s snoring.

 

 


	8. Search, and Search Again

**Chapter 8: Search, and Search Again**

  
  
  


Regina has never much enjoyed research, or studying, or homework. When she had first started learning under Rumplestiltskin, he loved making her research. It wasn’t enough for her to understand what the spell meant: she also had to understand who invented the incantation, from where and when it was derived, and why it was significant. If she couldn’t find the answer he wanted, he’d stand there and giggle.

“ _Research, dearie,_ ” he’d giggle, “ _It means ‘search, and search again.’_ ”

Sitting in her dank underground vault, she buries her head in her books, his words playing over and over again. She’s done all the research she can for the moment, and nothing is helping. There are very few age regression spells, and even less research on them. The only thing she can find in her mother’s books is a spell to get rid of wrinkles. In Rumple’s books, she found two spells on age regression, but both would leave the subject with complete mental awareness, and their older self’s memories.

“Raagghhh,” she groans, throwing a book against the wall. It hits the floor with a resounding _THUNK_ and she clenches her jaw, taking deep breaths. As she tries to control her frustration, her stomach growls. Checking her watch, she realizes it’s nearly four o’clock, and she hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast with Henry- oh God, and she has to pick Henry up.

 _Good, I need a break from this stupid research_ , she sighs to herself. Suddenly, her phone rings shrilly, interrupting her thoughts.

“Yes, Ruby? she asks, packing up her things, putting a few books into her bag to look at later. She pulls the phone away from her ear as a clamoring noise comes through. “What is going on there?”

“Regina? Regina, we need help!” Ruby shouts. There’s a distant crash, and a shriek. She can hear the children crying, and what sounds like Mary Margaret shouting back.

“Ruby, where are you? Is everything alright?” Regina is shouting now, too.

“Regina, we need- ahh!” Ruby shrieks, and the line cuts out.

“Damnit,” Regina growls, hanging up. She throws her hands up, disappearing into the cloud of purple smoke.

 

“Whoa!” Regina cries out when she poofs into her living room. Glass crunches underfoot, furniture is overturned, and the lights are flickering. Everyone is screaming: Emma is wailing, and crying, Belle is shrieking in terror, Mary Margaret is shouting just to be heard, and Ruby is moaning as if in pain. “Enough!” she shouts. For a moment, everything stops. Regina turns her wrist sharply, and the mess cleans itself up. The furniture rights itself, and the shards of glass disappear, but Ruby still groans, gritting her teeth. Regina can’t even see where the brunette is.

The silence only lasted a brief moment before Emma starts whimpering again, Belle hiccupping.

“Snow, what the hell happened?” Regina hissed, picking up Emma. Clearly the girl’s temper tantrum had sparked a magical tantrum. She rocks the girl back and forth, trying to calm her. As soon as she gets Emma’s emotions under control, the magic will follow.

“I-I came to pick Emma up. When I said we had to pick up her baby brother, and that Belle and Ruby weren’t coming, she freaked out,” Mary Margaret whispers back frantically. She picks up Belle, but the girl pushes against her until she’s back on the ground. She runs out of the room, near where Regina can hear Ruby. Regina rolls her eyes at Snow and walks slowly towards the brunette on the ground in the next room, singing softly to Emma.

 _“Hush little Emma don’t you cry. Gina’s gonna sing you a lullaby,_ ” she sings softly, her eyes widening when she sees Ruby on the ground. Her leg is turned at a funny angle, and there’s a nasty purple bruise flowering on her shin. She’s panting, sweating, and when she looks at Regina, her eyes are bright yellow as if wolf’s time had come early, and she was about to turn. Regina bites her lip, but continues singing to Emma, snapping to get Snow over here. “ _Hush little Emma, don’t say a word. Gina’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.”_ She gestures for Snow to call 911, pantomiming the phone call, and pointing to Ruby. The woman looks like she’s going to vomit, but Regina can’t help her right now. Emma is just starting to calm down, and the lights aren’t flickering anymore.

“Okay, that’s my good girl,” Regina whispers as Emma sniffles. She cringes, knowing the girl is probably using her blazer as a tissue, but she can get it dry cleaned later. “Ruby, what happened?” she asks calmly, trying to prevent Emma from panicking.

“When she freaked, ah,” Ruby gasps through gritted teeth. “Her magic went crazy. I tried to, ugh, pick her up. There was this, um, ah, electric shock. Threw me against the wall. Then, she screamed, and, uh, couch fell on my leg. Belle freaked,” Ruby groans, but when Belle lays on her chest, she holds her close, petting the girl’s hair as she trembles, still crying. Regina hears sirens approaching.

“I can speed up the healing once they check you out,” Regina explains. “They just need to make sure there’s nothing serious, set the bones, and rule out head injuries.

“Mary Margaret?” David shouts, the door to the house slamming open. Emma squeals, leaning into Regina’s shoulder, her nails digging into Regina’s back. “Ruby? Who’s hurt?”

“In here,” Mary Margaret calls out, reappearing from the living room. He rushes in, a paramedic following close behind. The paramedic moves to look at Ruby. David runs to his wife.

“Emma, go see daddy,” Regina says softly. “I have to get Belle, honey. Go see daddy,” she whispers, kissing the girl’s forehead as she hands her off to David. She pouts, reaching out for Regina, but she is turned around, struggling to pull Belle off of Ruby’s chest. The paramedics need to get around her to help Ruby, but Belle has wrapped her hands around Ruby’s shirt.

“Easy, Belle,” Ruby says, smiling at her. She disentangles the girl’s hands. “I’m right here. Go see Gina.” Regina wrinkles her nose at the nickname, but scoops Belle up and lets the girl cry into her shoulder.

“Wuby,” she whimpers.

“Hey now,” Regina protests playfully. “None of that. Ruby’s fine, you’re fine. It was loud, and scary, I know,” she whispers gently, moving into the kitchen, beckoning for David and Emma to follow. She knows that as soon as they move Ruby’s leg, she’ll be howling in pain. “Are you hungry? Maybe we can go to the diner for supper,” she continues. She wonders if Granny would watch them while she went to meet Ruby at the hospital.

“What happened?” David asks, looking at Regina.

“Don’t blame me,” she scoffs. David rolls his eyes. “It was your wife who upset your daughter. I wasn’t even here.” Now Snow rolls her eyes. Regina wonders if Emma will do it next.

“Emma threw a tantrum,” Snow supplies.

“And it caused this?” he hisses. Emma pouts, hearing her name and picking up on their tone. Regina smiles at her, tickling her chin to make the girl smile.

“Magic is tied to emotion. How many times must I tell you people this? It’s especially difficult for children to control their emotions, so when they feel very strongly, their magic comes out in uncontrollable bursts,” Regina sighs. She hears the paramedics counting down from three and hurries to cover Belle’s ears, keeping the girl close to her chest. Thankfully, David does the same with Emma just before they hear a shriek from the other room. “Setting the bone,” she whispers the explanation to Snow and David as the gurney with a panting Ruby comes through.

“Hey, li’l pup,” she whispers squeezing Belle’s foot. Belle smiles down at her, still crying. “I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?” The paramedics wheel the gurney away, loading her into their ambulance out front.

“I’ll take the girls, and call Granny. You and Snow go make sure Ruby’s okay,” Regina says, taking Emma from David. She shifts the girl onto her hip, holding her with one arm, Belle with the other.

“What about Neal?” David asks, walking them out to the car where he quickly moves Emma’s car seat from the back of Snow’s car to the back of Regina’s.

“Ashley can keep him a little bit longer. Go, Ruby needs you,” she insists, putting Belle on the ground as she straps Emma into the seat. “Say bye-bye to daddy, Emma. He’ll be back soon.” Emma waves sadly as David leans in to kiss her forehead.

“Bye Belle, I’ll see you soon, okay?” Snow whispers. “I love you, Emma” she adds softly, pressing her lips to the girl’s forehead. Belle whines, and she can hear the girl crying as she jumps into the sheriff’s car, taking off after the ambulance, sirens blaring.


	9. The Waiting Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they wait for Ruby to get better, and discuss options and solutions.

** Chapter 9: The Waiting Game **

****   
  
  


“Want Wuby!” Belle cries the entire way to the Diner. By the time they get there, Granny is already closing up, ready to go over to the hospital. She gets in the front seat of Regina’s Mercedes.

“Gammy!” Belle says happily. She had quickly picked up the term of endearment, and it always made Granny smile, but not this time.

“Hey, pup,” she says, reaching back to grab Belle’s foot, but when she turns back around to face front, she’s not smiling.

“What did Ruby do to herself?” Granny asks quietly.

“I can heal it. It’s probably just a broken leg. I just need to know the extent of the damage before I do anything,” Regina assures her. Granny nods. They drive the rest of the way in silence, except for Belle’s whinings for Ruby, and Emma’s constant babble.

“I’m _fine_ ,” Ruby says drunkenly, smiling at Regina and Granny. The girls were waiting outside with Snow and David until they knew the extent of Ruby’s injuries.

“You’re on pain killers,” Regina sighs. “Great. I can’t fix her until these wear off. Magic doesn’t mix well with this stuff.”

“No, the doctors will fix me,” Ruby smiles, pointing to her leg. They’d stabilized it in a neon orange plastic splint, and strapped it up, hanging above the bed, elevated.

“No, _I’ll_ fix you once the drugs wear off,” Regina says. Granny rolls her eyes.

“I’ll make sure the doctors get it out of her,” she mutters, disappearing to find a nurse.

“Where’s my girls?” Ruby asks, smiling goofily. “I can hear Belle crying for me.”

“Once you’re healed,” Regina promises. “You’ll just have to wait.”

“Son of a _bitch_ ,” Ruby shrieks. Regina had tried to warn her that, even with the magic, setting the bone straight would hurt. Ruby had gripped the edge of the hospital railing, but when her leg snapped back into place, her knuckles went white as she screamed.

“I warned you,” Regina shrugs. “You can stand up now, though. It’s all healed. Belle will be excited to see you.”

“Emma’s gone home with David and Snow?” she asks, swinging her legs over the bed, wincing. “Hey, where are my clothes?” As if just realizing she’s in a thin hospital gown, she glares around the room, willing the clothes to appear.

“They had to cut your jeans off to get to your leg. The jacket and sweater had blood on it, so they gave it to your grandmother. I cleaned it off with magic, and she’s got it now. Here,” Regina says, waving her hand and engulfing Ruby in a cloud of purple smoke. When it dissipates, Ruby is clothed in a new pair of jeans, and a loose red sweater, similar to the one she’d been wearing earlier.

“Can we go home now?” Ruby asks, standing hesitantly. She leans to one side, avoiding putting weight on her previously injured leg.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Regina finally says, smiling as she sees Belle toddling over to Ruby.

“Have you made any progress?” Henry asks. He’d been at the library when he got the call that Ruby was in the hospital, but his mother advised him to wait there until Ruby was better. They’d all met at the diner for dinner, and he’d been glad Ruby was okay. He waited until Ruby and Belle had passed out upstairs (the breaking and healing of Ruby’s leg took a lot out of her, and they’d both fallen asleep in Ruby’s guest room) were asleep before asking his mother the question he’d been wanting to ask all day.

“Progress?” Regina asks sleepily. She’d forgotten how tired a toddler could make her.

“In changing them back,” Henry reminds her. “I was thinking of asking the Blue Fairy. I know you don’t like her, but she changed August back into Pinnochio, and we’re kind of trying to do the reverse. I was thinking it might be related,” he explains. Regina lets out an involuntary hiss. She’d never liked the Blue Fairy- _pretentious bitch,_ she thought to herself- but he had a point.

“I didn’t find anything revealing. I’ll try again tomorrow, and if I can’t make any headway, I _suppose_ I’ll have to ask her,” she concedes.

“Come on, Belle,” Regina whispers, scooping her off of Ruby’s chest. “Time to go home, now, sweetheart.”

“No,” Belle whines. “Wuby.”

“I know. She’s coming, too,” Regina smiles, resting Belle’s head against her shoulder. Once Belle is settled, she shakes Ruby’s shoulder.

“Huh- wha?” Ruby groans, still asleep.

“Wake up, dear. We need to get Belle home for a bath, and put her to bed,” Regina whispers. Ruby nods, still not opening her eyes. Regina rolls her eyes, poofing them back to the mansion. Ruby doesn’t even notice, just rolls over in her sleep. Without thinking about it, Regina had brought them to her master bedroom- it had a bigger bathroom- but now Ruby was asleep in her bed.

“Come on, my little princess. Let’s go take a bath,” Regina whispers. Belle nods sleepily. Regina is just about to start washing Belle’s hair when Ruby opens the door, rubbing her eyes and standing in the doorway.

“You’re really good at this, you know,” Ruby whispers. Regina smiles, not turning to face her.

“Thank you.” Regina smiles, splashing gently at Belle. The toddler smiles back, splashing in the bubbles. “I’ve missed this, you know? I love Henry, and I love the man he’s becoming, but…” Regina hesitates.

“But what?” Ruby asks.

“But, I do miss having a little one running around,” Regina admits.

“You’re thinking about having another baby? Adopting one?” Ruby asks, smiling. She comes to sit next to Regina on the floor.

“I wish I could,” Regina sighs. She rises to her knees, and starts working the shampoo into Belle’s hair.

“Why can’t you?”

“My mother once tried to set me up with an atrocious man pretending to be my soulmate. She wanted me to have a child, an heir to the throne,” Regina sighs, speaking softly, keeping her voice light so as not to upset Belle. “I knew that, once that happened, something would happen to me. My mother would be the power behind the child-sized throne, the puppetmaster pulling the boy-king’s strings. I couldn’t let that happen. So, to spite her and prevent her from doing that, I made myself infertile with a potion.” Ruby puts her hand on Regina’s shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

“You know, I’ve been reading some stuff online, and this world has some really good doctors. Maybe you could go visit one, see if they can reverse the effects,” Ruby suggests softly. She rises to her knees to play with Belle’s hair, spiking it up with the shampoo.

“And if they can, who would I get to be the father? Robin is gone, and I don’t want him back,” Regina says, a little harshly. She’s just sick of being his second chance. Why be with someone who doesn’t put you first?

“They have ways to inseminate you without the man. A sperm donor,” Ruby suggest lightly.

“And if, after all of this, they can’t make it work? What then?” Regina is just looking for excuses now. She can’t get her hopes up on having a child only to have some obstacle stand in the way of her happiness, again.

“Adoption? It’s how you got Henry, right?”

“The waiting list is so long. I only got Henry because Gold pulled strings.”

“So, I don’t know, foster a child or something! Didn’t Emma say the foster system is a mess? You could foster a kid, then adopt him or her.” Regina smiles. Ruby’s trying so hard. She just nods, pouring water over Belle to rinse the shampoo. As her spikes deflate, Ruby pouts.

“I’ll think about this more once this whole mess is solved. For now, I have to try and figure out how to fix this. Preferably, without the Blue Fairy.” Regina grimaces having to say her name.

“You’ll figure something out,” Ruby says. Regina smiles, and they let the subject of children drop.

Halfway through the next day, after poring over her books for hours, Regina’s blood is boiling, realizing what she must do.

For a while she toys with just letting the girls stay little. Surely David and Snow wouldn’t object to the chance to raise their daughter from such a young age? And Ruby was doing spectacularly with Belle. They would probably be fine on their own. But then, Regina remembers Henry, and how much he needs his other mother. And worse, she realizes it would be unfair to Emma and Belle.

She groans, putting her head in her hands.

Well, if she has to deal with the Blue Bitch, she’s gonna need some caffeine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to give reviews, add suggestions, etc, etc.


	10. A Bitter Pill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Regina must do something she hates.

**Chapter 10: A Bitter Pill**

****  
  
  


Regina has to say the four words she loathes most.

She knows the Blue Fairy (though in her head, she calls her much worse names) will make her say it. She’s almost tempted to turn around, walk away from the convent. She hadn’t even gotten out of her car. She could leave and no one would be the wiser. But Regina thought of Emma, and Belle, and how they’d probably prefer to be themselves at the moment. So she gets out of the car, knocks on the door, and follows the young nun, a fairy whose name she’d never bothered to learn (though it was probably Pink, or Yellow, seeing as all of the fairies were named for their colors- a ridiculous practice), to Blue’s office. She sits down in the rough wooden chair, and the severe woman just raises one eyebrow, waiting for Regina to speak. It is difficult, but she swallows her pride.

“I need your help,” she says, enunciating the words and speaking loudly. She does not want to repeat herself.

“With?” is all the nun/ fairy/ bitch says.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of Emma and Belle’s _situation_ ,” she spits out the words, but tries not to (really, she’s trying!).

“Ah, and you can’t reverse it,” the woman smiles smugly, as if taking pleasure in knowing she can do something Regina can’t.

“I don’t know what spell they tried, or what Emma did, or how it went wrong. Without all that information, there is nothing I can find to help me,” Regina sighs, shifting in her seat. She hates feeling powerless. “I was hoping you could help,” she adds with an eye roll.

“I might be able to,” she says primly, folding her hands, looking very pleased with herself. “There are a few tricks we fairies have that can’t be replicated with dark magic.” Regina growls lowly. “I’ll get back to you about it.”

“Listen, Blue, I know we don’t see eye to eye on, well, just about anything. But this isn’t about you being right or me wrong. It’s about helping Emma, your beloved Savior, and Belle, an innocent girl. So don’t drag your feet just because it’s me asking,” she says softly, leaning forward. The nun/ fairy/ bitch (this is the best thing Regina can think of to accurately describe her) raises one eyebrow and purse her lips.

“I’ll get back to you,” is all she says before turning her attention to the papers on her desk, shuffling them around pointlessly. Taking this as a dismissal, Regina stands.

“I’ll call you tonight so you can update me,” Regina warns her snidely as she storms out.

“So… Once she finds a solution… This’ll be over?” Mary Margaret says softly, turning to watch Emma and Belle running around Regina’s backyard. Ruby is chasing after them, chasing after a ball.

“Yes,” Regina nods solemnly. She understands the conflict raging in Mary Margaret’s head. On the one hand, she gets her adult daughter back, with whom she has a stronger relationship, and she gets her sleep schedule back. But on the other hand, she loses the sweet little toddler who cries, and hugs her, and calls her ‘mommy,’ and needs her. Regina had been watching Ruby go through the same struggle when she told her that morning.

“Huh,” is all David says. They all sit in silence, watching the kids play.

“So, you really think Blue can fix this? Even though you can’t?” Ruby asks. Belle is upstairs, napping. Regina inhales sharply.

“Unfortunately, she might. And if she does, I will _never_ hear the end of it,” Regina mutters, flipping through one of her mother’s spellbooks. She wasn’t going to sit on her hands while Blue did all the work. Maybe she could find a solution and spare herself the annoyance of having to rely on her.

“Why?” Ruby asks, flopping down on the arm chair across from Regina. Regina sighs, closing her book.

“Why what?”

“Why can she do it, if you can’t? I thought you were this badass sorceress, the Evil Queen?” Ruby says, teasing lightly.

“I _am_ , Ruby. Need I remind you? I just… Emma has the lightest of all magic. And when Savior magic goes wrong, it takes light magic to undo it, I think. My dark magic just isn’t… good enough,” Regina explains. “And, I don’t even know _what_ I’m trying to undo. Maybe she can figure it out.”

“Nah, I bet you can figure it out. You’re smart,” Ruby grins. Regina rolls her eyes. "Plus, didn't we just tell Blue that your magic isn't dark anymore?" Regina smiles gratefully, taking a deep breath, gathering her focus.

“What did she say… about the spell?” Regina mumbles. “She didn’t say much, but she was embarrassed about it, right? Age spells… Embarrassed to tell others…”

“Are you talking to me?” Ruby asks. When Regina doesn’t respond, she answers her own question, “guess not.”

“Was she… trying to be younger so she could… tap into her emotions? Was she trying to access old memories? Maybe… was she just experimenting? Working on her magic?” Regina mumbles.

“Was she trying to _look_ younger?” Ruby asks.

“Hmm?” Regina asks, glancing up.

“What if she didn’t want to _be_ younger, just _look_ younger? Like, she wanted to look a little younger, get rid of some wrinkles, or something?” Ruby jokes. Regina closes the book with a snap.

“She _wouldn’t_ ,” she says softly, narrowing her eyes. “That _idiot_!!” she shrieks, standing suddenly.

“Uh, Regina?” Ruby says, standing. She follows as Regina storms out, grabbing a book off the kitchen counter.

“You know, I saw this spell, but I dismissed it. I thought she was smarter than that. Didn’t know you could be so _vain_ , Swan,” she mutters, flipping through the silver spellbook.

“Vain?” Ruby asks. She feels like she’s talking to no one, seeing as Regina isn’t really answering her.

“Oh, if this is the spell… This means… Maybe I could… I don’t know…” Regina mutters, tracing the words of the spell over and over again.

“Regina!” Ruby shouts. “Talk to me! God, I feel like I’m going insane here!” Regina looks up.

“I’m sorry, was I speaking out loud? I do that sometimes, when I start thinking,” Regina says quietly. “Um, I think I found a spell. It’s a vanity spell, to take away wrinkles, age lines, anything like that. I passed over it at first, thinking she wouldn’t touch something like this. But maybe… If she said something incorrectly, it could’ve gone from making her _look_ younger to _making_ her younger. And if she said something else incorrectly, it could have caused the dramatic age drop.”

“Huh…” is all Ruby says. She pauses, and Regina continues looking at the page. After a while, she speaks again. “Is that why she was all squirrelly?” Regina just laughs.

“I suppose it is,” Regina laughs. They laugh together, and quite soon, they’re laughing so hard their sides are splitting. Ruby isn’t quite sure why she’s laughing so hard, but soon, she can hear the quiet sounds of Belle stirring. Still laughing, Ruby goes to pick up Belle. When she comes back, Belle is giggling too, so they’re all sitting there, laughing like a bunch of idiots. Ruby feels like she’s on a damn sitcom.

Regina is still laughing when she picks up the phone.

“Ha-hello,” she says, making a concerted effort to stop laughing. All of a sudden, she stops, her face souring. “Blue.” Ruby stops laughing, and Belle wonders why everyone is so angry.

“No, I think we figured out what the spell is,” Regina says, interrupting Mother Superior. She pauses. “Well, no, I’m not absolutely certain, but-” she pauses again, clenching her fist. “Well, do you have a solution or not?” she barks, and Belle whimpers, burying her head in Ruby’s neck. Ruby doesn’t blame her: angry Regina reminds her of the Evil Queen, and the Evil Queen is _terrifying_. Regina scoffs, hanging up the phone.

“So,” Ruby says hesitantly. “Who was that?” Regina just glares at her.


	11. Solutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Blue Bitch proposes her solution.

**Chapter 11: Solutions**

****  
  
  
  


“So… She _may_ have a solution?” Mary Margaret asks, tilting her head. As soon as she had gotten the call, Regina had called Snow and David. They’d all agreed to meet at the diner, unfortunately waking Emma up from her nap in the process.

The grumpy blonde was now groaning in the stroller, hitting anyone who came near her. Mary Margaret had tried giving her a bottle with juice in it, but Emma had zapped it out of her hand and across the room. After that, Regina decided to just put a damper on her powers. She hates to do something that Cora had done to her as a child, but Emma was too little to learn proper control, and too powerful to allow her powers to go unchecked.

“Yes, she might. But, she proposed a solution before we figured out what spell they used, so it may not work,” she explains for the tenth time.

“What _is_ her solution?” David asks.

“A potion to reverse magical effects. It uses the same basic principles they used when bringing back Pinocchio.”

“So, it’ll work!” David smiles. Regina rolls her eyes; it’s a very simplistic way to view it, and she would expect nothing less from David, the shepherd prince.

“Maybe. Those are… very different situations,” Regina says gently.

“So, we should be prepared with some different options, in case this doesn’t work?” Mary Margaret asks.

“Yes,” Ruby interrupts before Regina can get frustrated with the Charmings. “Regina has maybe figured out what the spell was. She thinks it was a vanity spell to get rid of wrinkles.”

“Hah!” Mary Margaret laughs. Emma grumbles, tossing her shoe across the diner. “Sorry, I just, Emma made fun of me a few weeks ago for buying a wrinkle-remover cream. And now, here she is, two years old again because _she_ tried to remove wrinkles? It’s just funny,” she snickers.

“Yeah,” Ruby grins, cutting up Belle’s food for her. “Hilarious.”

“So, is it ready?” Mary Margaret asks.

“Why else would she have called us in?” Regina asks, shifting uncomfortably. She hates the convent, not because she hates religion, or nuns, or anything. She just hates the Blue Fairy, and she can feel her here _everywhere_ , judging her.

“Mama,” Emma says loudly, reaching towards Regina. She still hasn’t learned the difference between her parents, and everyone else, except when it comes to Ruby.

“No, dear,” Regina sighs, taking the girl. “It’s _Regina_.”

“R’shina!” she tries, pulling on her shirt top. Regina grabs her hands just as they manage to pop the top two buttons. She rolls her eyes, but doesn’t bother to fix her shirt. So naturally, Mother Superior has to walk in to see Regina with her shirt half open, and Emma snuggled in her bare chest.

“Hmm,” she clears her throat, looking snidely at Regina. She’s glaring at her as if she fears Emma will catch Regina’s bisexuality. Everyone back in the Enchanted Forest knew that the Evil Queen would take male or female lovers, she wasn’t picky. But the Blue Fairy was the only one who dared to vocalize an issue with it.

“Where’s your magical cure-all, _Blue_?” Regina asks, raising one eyebrow. She could easily fix her shirt, but leaves it as it is to prove a point.

“The potion is in the back. Perhaps it would be better if you stayed here, Regina. We wouldn’t want your magic to taint the process,” she says coldly. Really, Regina doesn’t understand how everyone loves this lady: she’s a menace.

“She will be _fine_ ,” Mary Margaret insists. Regina is glad that she’s gotten on better terms with Mary Margaret. It would’ve been a damn shame if she had to try and strangle _both_ of them. “Let’s just get our girls back the way they were before.”

The Blue Bitch purses her lips, but leads them into her office. What was before orderly, and neat, covered in papers and files, is now disorganized. The papers and files are replaced by tubes, and vials, and a mortar and pestle. Sitting on the corner of the table is one big beaker with a light blue liquid that sparkles just slightly in the sunlight, and is swirling of its own accord.

“So, you give them this, and it should reverse the effects. It won’t be instantaneous, and it will make them _very_ tired. I recommend giving it to them tonight before bedtime,” she explains, handing them the beaker.

“And if it doesn’t work?” David asks, glancing at Regina.

“It may be permanent. So, you might want to prepare yourself for raising her like this,” she says, almost nonchalantly, like it doesn’t matter. Regina hands Emma back to her parents.

“Why don’t you guys go get yourselves to the car while Blue and I have a little _chat,”_ she says, keeping her voice neutral. Ruby nods, quickly ushering everyone out.

“Regina,” she says, crossing her arms.

“There is a solution. If _this_ isn’t the solution, we can work backwards from the spell that-”

“That you _think_ might be the right spell? That could make everything even worse!” she scoffs, interrupting Regina. Regina sucks in a breath through clenched teeth.

“I believe it is the right spell. If you do not, that is fine. I can easily agree to disagree,” Regina says shortly, enunciating each syllable. Normal people run when her voice gets this low, this controlled. Normal, smart people can sense the rage bubbling underneath. They agree, excuse themselves, and run like hell from her- while they still can. But the Idiot Fairy keeps talking.

“You should be certain before you do anything to her. Your dark magic is-”

“It’s not dark anymore!” Regina shrieks. “Magic stems from its intentions, and its actions. When I fought Zelena, my magic was light. _Light_ magic, damnit! I have been making strides to change, but people like you won’t let me and-” Regina is shouting now, standing. She is interrupted when the door opens, and Ruby grabs her from behind, wrapping her arms around her.

“Regina, let’s go. Come on, they’re waiting for us. Emma wants you,” Ruby whispers. It is only her werewolf strength that allows her to keep a grip on Regina as she struggles against her. She is physically dragging her backwards, trying to keep a hold on Regina’s hands so that she doesn’t send a fireball at the Blue Fairy.

It isn’t until Ruby has dragged her around a corner, and the woman is out of her sight that Regina manages to calm down. She sinks backward, leaning against Ruby’s chest. “My magic… It isn’t dark anymore,” Regina says softly. Ruby spins her around, and for a moment, Regina leans into her chest, holding onto the lapels of Ruby’s jacket. Regina just breathes deeply, and Ruby can feel her shaking.

“I know,” Ruby whispers. “I know.” After a few moments, Regina stands, and clears her throat.

“My magic is not dark. It was, but it isn’t anymore,” Regina repeats, looking at Ruby. “And I was _not_ crying,” she adds, raising an eyebrow, daring Ruby to challenge her.

“Nope, you weren’t. No crying here,” Ruby says, smiling. She puts a hand on the small of Regina’s back and leads her out to the parking lot where the Charmings and Belle were waiting. They set off to prepare the girls for their last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading! It means a lot to me. Feel free to leave a review, guess what happens next, suggest something, whatever!


	12. The Last Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The changes are starting to occur... It's their last night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, dear readers!

**Chapter 12: The Last Night**

  
  
  
  


Regina decides the girls deserve a treat for their last night.

She’s not sure if they’ll remember these last few days (hell, she’s not even sure if this potion will even  _ work _ ), but she wants them to enjoy tonight. So, she sends Belle off with Ruby and Mary Margaret, and enlists the help of David and Granny to set up the party. Granny was in charge of making food for the girls. David was to pick out movies, toys, and games. Regina was setting up the living room, creating a pillow fort. They only had an hour.

They moved quickly, they had to make sure it counted.

 

The party had ended up being a pretty fun night. The girls and Henry had added onto the pillow fort Regina had created. Emma spent a long time smushing grilled cheese bites and lasagna in her face. Belle had set up an entire town for the dolls David had bought. They spent hours watching cartoons, eating cake, and ice cream, and playing silly board games. Emma had fallen asleep before they even got her into the car seat.

“Remember, put her in a loose shirt before you put her to bed. We don’t want her to outgrow her pajamas while she’s in them,” Regina says, sniffling. As loathe as she is to admit it, she’s going to miss little Emma. She’ll miss the way she clung to Regina, calling her mommy. She loves Henry, but she misses the pitter-patter of little feet running around. She thinks about her conversation with Ruby; maybe, after this is all over, she will consider adoption, or that artificial insemination idea.

“Mhmm,” Snow whimpers.

“Snow, you  _ are _ going to give her the potion, right?” Ruby asks, concerned.

“Of course. It wouldn’t be fair to Emma if we didn’t,” she scoffs. “Doesn’t mean I won’t miss our little girl.” 

“See you tomorrow, Em. Hopefully then, we can hash this all out over beer and pretzels rather than apple juice and baby food,” Ruby whispers, kissing Emma’s temple. Belle waves, yawning, as they all drive away.

“Bath time, Belly,” Ruby sniffles, tickling Belle. She giggles, then yawns. “Don’t go to sleep yet, baby girl. Let’s get cleaned up, then bed time.”

 

Belle yawned all through the bath.

Ruby wanted to drag it out, to preserve her time with little Belle. As soon as this is over, things are going to get awkward. She’s going to have to talk to Belle about all the times she saw her naked. It’ll change their friendship, and she doesn’t want anything to change. But, Ruby also doesn’t want Belle to fall asleep in the tub, so she takes her out, and dries her off.

“Here,” Regina says quietly, offering a loose nightgown. “I made up the bed, and put one of those puppy training pads underneath the sheets, just in case she has an accident. I don’t want to put her in a diaper because she’ll grow out of it.” Ruby nods.

“Belle, don’t sleep yet, baby girl. Come here, have a drink,” Ruby whispers, giving Belle her the purple sippy cup. Regina had mixed the potion with a little bit of juice to improve the taste. Ruby sits in the rocking chair, coaxing her into drinking it. But Belle’s eyelids are drooping, and it’s a fight to get her to drink it all. But she does, and as soon as she does, Belle passes out.

“Goodnight, Belle,” Regina says, smiling as she smooths the girl’s hair down. 

“I’ll put her to bed in a minute,” Ruby sniffles, and Regina nods, leaving her. Ruby waits to hear Regina’s bedroom door close, and the springs in her mattress squeak before she begins to sing, softly, her voice shaking as she cries,  _ “you are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you, so please don’t take my sunshine away.” _ Belle squirms in her sleep. Ruby rocks her for a few minutes, just crying, humming softly. After a while, she goes to put Belle down on her bed. “I love you, Belle,” she whispers, kissing Belle’s temple before putting her in the bed, tucking the blanket snugly around her. She is too wrapped up in her own despair to notice the pulse of light and energy emanating from the crib. Peace washes over Belle’s face in her sleep, and Ruby stumbles back to her bed, mourning the loss of her close friendship with Belle.

 

That same night, David and Snow are putting Emma to bed. She had fought them on the potion, but drank it just the same. They had cried too, upon putting her to bed, but Mary Margaret was too upset to kiss her goodnight without waking her. So when she sleeps, there is no pulse of light, and she does not sleep soundly. 

 

Ruby doesn’t sleep.

She lays awake, listening for any sounds of trouble, and she is glad she did when she hears the crying. She rushes into Belle’s room to find the toddler is no longer a toddler. She’s significantly taller now, and her face has lost the roundness of infancy. Her curls are longer now, but the most disturbing change, is the large bruise on her forearm, and the way Belle’s face is twisted up in pain.

“Regina,” Ruby gasps, running to her room. Regina wasn’t asleep either, reading disinterestedly when Ruby rushes in. “Belle, something weird is happening,” she pants. They rush back into the bedroom.

“It’s working,” Regina grins. 

“But she’s hurt,” Ruby hisses, panicking. The bruise is more faded now, yellows and greens as opposed to the blues, and reds Ruby had seen.

“She’s reliving her entire life. She’s probably eight or nine, at this point? She must have broken a bone, or gotten hurt. Look, I can fix this,” Regina whispers calmly, soothing Ruby. She then waves a hand over Belle’s arm, and the bruise fades entirely. Belles sighs in her sleep, and Ruby breathes again.

“It’s working,” Ruby hisses, the words so quiet, Regina can barely hear them, like a release of breath, the soft hiss of air escaping a balloon.

“It’s working,” Regina confirms. “Go back to bed.”

“Can’t sleep. Neither can you,” Ruby challenges, raising an eyebrow. Regina just rolls her eyes.

“Fine, go lay awake in bed. Watch TV, read a book, write a book. But don’t stress, and don’t worry. It’s working, and by this time tomorrow, Belle will be back.” Ruby nods.  _ Belle will be back _ . That’s supposed to be a good thing, so why does this fill her with such dread?

 

Emma sleeps through the night, no pain, no noise. Mary Margaret and David can’t help but check on her every few hours, whenever one wakes. They are both disappointed and relieved that she has not grown.

 

“No,” Ruby hears a small voice whisper. “Mother.” Ruby shoots up, running into Belle’s room. The girl is getting too big for the crib now, and it’s clearly uncomfortable. Ruby picks her up, intending to move her to the guest bed so she can be more comfortable. “Mother?” she whispers, confused, opening her eyes blearily.

“Shhh, go to sleep,” Ruby whispers, rocking her slightly. She’s a teenager now, still young. This must be around the time she has lost her mother. She nods, closing her eyes. Ruby lays her down on her bed, covering her with her own red quilt. Belle clutches it to her face, inhaling deeply. Ruby lays next to her, attention split between her TV show, and watching Belle’s face as she sleeps, making sure she’s okay.

 

At some point in the wee hours of the morning, Ruby must have fallen asleep.

When she opens her eyes, Belle looks like her normal self. The nightgown is still big on her, but this is because Regina is taller than Belle. Belle is stretching, as if waking up, and Ruby tenses. Belle opens her eyes, still lost in the last of her dreams.

“Ruby?” she whispers, her voice thick with dreaming. Ruby wants to cry; she’s missed that voice, that accent.

“Hi Belle,” is all Ruby can say before the tears start to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a million for reading! Please feel free to leave a review!


	13. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Belle is back. Now it's time to pick up the pieces of everything that happened, and figure out what happens next.

**Chapter 13: The Morning After**

  
  
  


“Ruby, really dear, if it didn’t work-” Regina sighs, halting in the doorway when she sees Belle sitting upright on the bed, comforting a sobbing Ruby.

“I think I have really bad morning breath,” Belle jokes. Ruby smacks her leg weakly.

“You’re back,” Regina states. “Why is she crying?”

“I-I-I don’t k-know!” Ruby gasps.

“Ruby, come on. I’m back, and I’d love to go get breakfast with you so you can tell me more about all the embarrassing things I said and did as a toddler, but you have to calm down. And I have to put clothes on,” Belle says gently. Ruby laughs, and takes deep breaths, slowly calming her tears. Regina leans against the doorjamb.

“So, what do you remember?” Regina asks.

“Bits and pieces. It’s weird. It’s sort of like, like it happened when I actually was a kid. They feel like old memories, so they’re a bit fuzzy,” she explains. Ruby manages to calm her gasping sobs to a quiet, hiccuping sniffle.

“Well, they were very,  _ very _ recent for us,” Regina smiles. “You were a pretty cute kid. Speaking of, I should go talk to the Charmings about their  _ precious _ bundle of joy.” Regina smirks to herself, leaving Belle and Ruby.

“So, how bad was I?” Belle asks.

“You  _ were _ cute,” Ruby laughs. “You cried for your parents a lot, and one time you puked on me, and wouldn’t let go, so I had to get in the tub with you to wash you off, so that was kind of awkward.”

“Fantastic,” Belle says, her cheeks flushing an attractive shade of pink.

“No, but you were cute. And, like, attached to me at the hip. That’s why I’m taking care of you,” Ruby smiles, brushing her hair back, embarrassed that she had sobbed.

“Yeah, I was wondering: why’s Regina here? Not that I mind, I’m sure it was her who fixed me. And, where are we?” Belle asks, looking around.

“We’re actually at Regina’s house. Like I said: you were attached to me, so I had to take care of you. But, I live at the inn and no one but Regina believed that I could handle taking care of you. So, she volunteered to help me out, just in case, and let me stay here so she could be on-hand,” Ruby explains.

“I’m sure you were a great nanny/ babysitter/ pseudo-parental figure,” Belle says gently. “But, I really would like to get dressed, take a shower, all that. Then, we can go to the diner, and talk this over in detail.”

“You’re in luck. Regina thought you might want to do that, so she brought over some of your clothes and things. The shower is right here,” Ruby says, gesturing to the bathroom door with a grand flourish. Belle giggles lightly, taking the bag of her clothes, closing the bathroom door. Ruby sighs, grabbing her towel and disappearing into another guest room to shower.

 

“Henry, how is she?” Regina asks. Henry had decided to stay with his grandparents the previous night so he could spend as much time with his other mother, and be there to help when she woke up.

“She hasn’t changed back. She’s sitting in her booster seat eating Cheerios, and drinking apple juice from a sippy cup right now. Did Belle change back?” he asks, speaking softly.

“Yes, she did. Tell your grandparents to meet us at the diner in half an hour. You can get hot cocoa before school,” Regina says, furrowing her brow.

“‘Kay. Love you mom,” he says.

“I love you, Henry,” she says with a smile, hanging up. Then, she frowns, going back to her bedroom to make herself presentable.  _ Why the hell didn’t Emma change back? _

 

Belle doesn’t take long in the shower.

She spends a long time, once she’s dressed in jeans and a simple sweatshirt, (the only full outfit she could find), sitting on the bed. She runs her hand over the stitching on the red blanket. She traces Ruby’s name. And she thinks about what it must have felt like for her friends to take care of her.

She had been at her most vulnerable, literally relying on Ruby to feed her, bathe her, clothe her, even change her diaper. And what had Ruby meant when she said she had been attached to her? Sure, Ruby is Belle’s best friend, and she’s been really great ever since Rumple left. But why on earth would her infantile self cling to her? Was it like a duckling imprinting? She sits there, staring into space, tracing the stitching. She doesn’t notice when Ruby come in, leaning on the doorjamb. 

“We have to go. Something weird has happened,” Regina says, startling both Ruby and Belle. Belle had been transfixed by her own thoughts, and Ruby was too busy staring at Belle.

“Weirder than Belle and Emma being turned back into toddlers?” Ruby jokes.

“Emma didn’t change back,” Regina says somberly. Belle stands.

“Why?”

“We have to go figure that out,” Regina says. “They’re meeting us at the diner. Blue is going to be there, as well.” Regina can’t control her sneer when saying the woman’s name (nickname? What the hell kind of name is  _ Blue _ ?). Ignoring this, she turns and stalks out the door, knowing without looking that Ruby and Belle are following her.

 

“Whoa, this is freaky,” Belle whispers under her breath as she walks into the diner. She was staring at Emma who was fighting with her mother about getting into a booster seat. Emma was so small, her curls were thicker, her hair was lighter, and her face was rounder. Was this what it had been like for everyone else while she was little?

“Ooby!” Emma giggles, squirming out of Snow’s grasp. Ruby grins, picking the girl up, settling her on her hip. Emma pats Ruby’s face before turning to look at Belle. “Mama?” she asks.

“She does that to everyone. Don’t worry,” Ruby explains quietly before speaking to Emma. “No, cutie, not mama. This is Belle.”

“Belle!” Emma squeals, holding her hands out. Belle, a little stunned picks up Emma, trying to balance her on her hip the way Ruby did, but she can’t quite figure out how to hold her upright. Eventually, she settles into the hold while Emma toys with her curls, babbling incoherently.

“Did you give her the potion?” Regina hisses.

“Of course!” Snow says tearfully. “Of course we did. We spent all night mentally preparing ourselves for the loss of little Emma, and the return of our daughter. We are just as confused as you are!”

“Then we need to compare what you did, precisely,” another voice interrupts. Belle turns to see Mother Superior standing in the doorway. “Glad you’re back, Belle. Now, Regina, Snow, how did your nighttime routines differ?”

“Ruby gave her a bath and put her in a nightgown. I put one half cup of fruit juice, and the potion into a sippy cup. I gave Ruby the cup, said goodnight, and went to my room,” Regina explains, sitting as far from Blue as she can as they gather around the table.

“I, uh, I gave her the potion. I sang to her, I kissed her goodnight, and I put her in the bed,” Ruby finishes, watching Belle laugh and dance around with Emma. She grabs some toys from the stroller, where Neal is contentedly playing with loose Cheerios, and sits with Emma at a separate booth.

“And Snow?” the Blue Fairy prompts.

“I mean, we gave her a bath, put her in a loose nightshirt. We mixed half a cup of apple juice with the potion, and rocked her to sleep. I put her in the bed, and went back to our room,” Snow explains in a whisper. “What’s the difference?” Regina quirks up one eyebrow, peering from Ruby to Belle to Emma to Snow.

“Did you kiss her goodnight?” Regina asks.

“Uh, no, I was crying, and I didn’t want to wake her. Does that matter?” Regina just smiles, shaking her head.

“True Love’s Kiss,” is all she says. Ruby’s cheeks flush.

“You’re saying I broke the spell for Belle with True Love’s Kiss?” Ruby asks hoarsely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN. Yes, this is Red Beauty. Will it be Swan Queen? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	14. Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because every story has a resolution. In which Belle and Ruby hash things out, and Emma the adult comes back.

**Chapter 14: Resolution**

  
  
  


“But, do I  _ love _ Belle?” Ruby whispers. “I mean, she’s my best friend, and she’s beautiful, and I’ve always been fascinated by her. And, okay, one time when I was kinda drunk, I think I tried to kiss her. And I’ve thought a lot about kissing her, but-”

“Ruby, calm down,” Regina chuckles, interrupting her nervous rambling. “First of all, True Love’s Kiss doesn’t have to be romantic love. It can be familial. Though, based on your rambling, I’d say you might wanna consider the possibility of it being  _ romantic _ love,” she teases.

“But I thought Rumple was her True Love’s Kiss?” David says, confused.

“Technically, there is no rule about only having one,” the Blue Fairy admits. Regina seems to be the only one who notices that she leans away from Ruby, as if afraid she might  _ catch the gay _ .

“But we’ve kissed Emma goodnight plenty of times, and during the day, too! And I  _ know _ Henry has, too!” Snow protests.

“Something about combining the potion and the power of True Love’s Kiss must be enough to break the Savior’s magic,” Belle comments. Ruby jumps, not having realized she and Emma had come to stand behind her.  _ How much had she heard? _ Belle doesn’t make eye contact with Ruby, and her cheeks are pink. Ruby wants the floor to open up and swallow her.

“So, we need more of the potion. Before you put her to bed tonight, everyone who could  _ possibly _ be her True Love, platonic, familial, or otherwise, will kiss her goodnight,” Regina decides. “Now, I have to take my son to school and get to work. Glad to have you back, Belle,” she grins. “Bye-bye, Emma!”

“Bye mama!” Emma cries happily. Regina rolls her eyes, but doesn’t correct her.

“Ruby, I have to get to the station. Can you watch Neal, and Emma? Ashley’s daycare doesn’t open for another hour,” David asks. Ruby nods. Within a few minutes, everyone else has left, leaving Ruby and Belle sitting at the table, tending to Neal and Emma. Once both children are eating happily, Ruby looks up at Belle, clearing her throat.

“So…” she says, trailing off.  _ Where the hell does she go from here? _

“Is it platonic?” Belle asks, not bothering to beat around the bush. Ruby admires her boldness, but is left stuttering.

“Uh, uh, um… Well, see- I, uh, I don’t know,” Ruby stammers, her voice going higher and higher as she gets more nervous.

“You know,” Belle nods. “If it were just friendly, or familial, you’d know, and it wouldn’t be hard to admit. You know.” She quirks her lips up in a smile.

“How can you be so blase about this?” Ruby asks, a little exasperated. Emma stops eating for a moment, watching Ruby. Neal gurgles contentedly.

“Because I know, too. I’ve known my feelings were more than best-friend-feelings for a little while now. And it wouldn’t have worked if your love was familial or platonic, and mine wasn’t. Or vice versa,” she explains so calmly, as if they were talking about the weather, or the topic of last night’s episode of  _ Grey’s Anatomy. _

“So… What does this mean… for us?” Ruby finally asks, stirring her coffee rather than looking at Belle.

“Well, are you proposing?” Belle asks. Ruby doesn’t have to look up to know she’s smiling, teasing Ruby. “Maybe we take things slow, go on a date. Once all of this is calmed down, of course,” she adds.

“Of course,” Ruby nods, laughing lightly.

“Ooby!” Emma cries, angry at Ruby for diverting her attention.

“Munchkin!” Ruby laughs. “What do you want to do today? Go to the park?” 

“Ooby! Pahk!” 

“Finish eating, then we’ll go to the park,” Belle smiles, tickling her chin. Emma giggles, pulling away from Belle to finish her bowl of strawberries.

 

“So, bath, then juice,” David whispers. “Then kiss, then sleep?” he confirms. Regina nods. “Okay,” he nods to himself. She had finished the bottle, and almost immediately, her eyelids were drooping. He lays her down on the bed, kissing her temple. Almost immediately after, Snow comes over and kisses her other temple. Neither one produces the shimmer of light they need. The disappointment is palpable.

“My turn,” Belle grins. “But I don’t think it’ll work,” she adds with a giggle. But she and Ruby lean down on either side of Emma, kissing her cheeks. Nothing.

“I’ll do it,” Regina finally offers. Her relationship with Emma had gotten better, but she wouldn’t say it was love-  _ would she? _ Everyone holds their breath as Regina kisses Emma’s forehead. There’s a shimmer of light, and Emma smiles in her sleep.

“Holy crap,” Ruby whispers. “First us, now them?” she asks, leaning towards Belle. Regina pulls away from Emma, her face pale.

“She’s my family. We share a son. Familial love,” she whispers. “Familial True Love’s Kiss. It makes sense,” she continues. Emma stirs slightly, and Snow moves to comfort her. David jerks his head, and everyone else moves to the living room.

“Well, you love my daughter,” David says. “Do I need to give you the whole ‘treat her right, or face my wrath’ speech?” Regina glares at him.

“Shut up, Charming.”

 

Without discussing it, everyone decides to stay the night at the Charming loft. Henry sleeps in his own bed, while Emma stays on her bed, the magic beginning to work. Belle and Ruby share the pull-out couch, and Regina parks herself in a recliner she poofed into Emma’s room. She wanted to be as close as possible when Emma woke up the next morning.

She spent the entire night just watching Emma age. She’d periodically get up to soothe the girl when she came close to waking, or heal the bruises, or scars that appeared. Regina never fell asleep, instead sitting there, thinking about what her kiss meant. Was if familial love? They were family, for all intents and purposes. Could it have been platonic? They’d definitely become friends. It wasn’t romantic, right?

Regina is so lost in thought that she doesn’t notice when Emma wakes.

“Morning,” she whispers hoarsely.

“Emma,” Regina whispers.

“Regina,” Emma whispers back, rubbing her eyes as she sits up. “You look like hell. Did you even sleep? Why are you in my bedroom, anyway? Not entirely complaining. Is this still a dream? Nah, if it were a dream you wouldn’t be so…  _ clothed _ ,” Emma continues mumbling to herself, almost unaware of her musings.

“I assure you, this is not a dream, Miss Swan,” Regina sighs, rolling her eyes. It definitely couldn’t be romantic.

 

“You kept calling everyone ‘mama’ and ‘daddy.’ I mean, it was cute, but still,” Ruby laughs. After waking up, Emma had made the rounds to everyone else, ensuring them she was okay. She had gotten dressed and joined everyone else in the kitchen of the loft for coffee. They had spent the last hour describing the antics of Belle and Emma that they didn’t quite remember.

“Yeah, I had a problem with that growing up,” Emma admits with a smile. “I called everyone that until I was, like, six. According to the psychologist’s report in my social services file, I had attachment issues.”

“And Belle was very jealous whenever Ruby paid you any attention,” Regina adds. She had avoided telling Emma exactly how they brought her back. “But enough of the fun stuff, Miss Swan. What spell were you trying to enact when this happened?” Emma looks down at her coffee, shrugging. She takes a sip, mumbling something into her coffee. 

“What was that?” Ruby teases. “Couldn’t hear you.”

“I was trying to get rid of wrinkles!” Emma shouts, frustrated.

“You don’t even have any,” Regina scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Your paranoia and vanity caused quite a problem for the rest of us.”

“Oh Emma, Regina should tell you how she solved the problem!” Belle adds, giggling. “She’s really quite smart.”

“I  _ am _ extremely intelligent,” Regina says, narrowing her eyes at Belle. “But it wasn’t just my work. I’m willing to share the credit.”

“Superpower, Regina. What are you hiding?” Emma asks, her internal lie detector ringing.

“Nothing,” Regina says derisively, standing to get herself more coffee.

“I know you, Regina,” Emma reminds her. “Don’t lie to me. Tell me.”

“No.”

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Nope.”

“Come on, Regina. Please tell me?”

“No, Miss Swan.” Emma pouts, seeming to drop the conversation. It isn’t until Regina is about to leave that she leans in to hug her goodbye and whispers, “Tell me?” Regina just rolls her eyes, shoving Emma away and closing the door.

“Tell me!” she shouts at the closed door, kicking it for good measure. 

She doesn’t hear Regina, just outside the door, whisper back, “no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more chapter, guys! Let me know what you think!


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three years later...

**Chapter 15: Epilogue**

  
  
  


_ *Three Years Later* _

 

“Lana, dear, come back here,” Regina chuckles, chasing after the infant. They were gathered in the backyard of the mansion, celebrating her daughter’s first birthday. She had, of course, eventually given in to Emma’s pleading and explained their True Love’s Kiss. It hadn’t taken them long to fall into a relationship, and they got married shortly thereafter. It had come to a huge shock to everyone when Regina found out she was pregnant. Apparently, True Love can overcome not only the infertility curse she had put on herself, but also the basic facts of biology. Now, a year later, they were celebrating their perfect baby.

“Whoa, kid,” Emma grins, scooping the girl up off the ground. The child had gotten the best of both mothers: Emma’s beautiful curls, but Regina’s dark hair coloring, Emma’s eyes, but Regina’s mouth, and Emma’s freckles, but Regina’s skin tone. She was tiny for a year old, having been born a month early, but Emma snuggled her close. “Can’t run from your mom like that.”

“I was  _ trying _ to go change her diaper,” Regina sighs.

“I’ll do it. You go welcome our guests,” Emma offers, gesturing with her chin to Ruby and Belle. They had gotten married almost a year ago, and Belle was now  _ very  _ pregnant with their twins, due any day now. Regina approaches them, grinning.

“You sure it’s just twins in there?” Regina teases as she kisses Belle’s cheek, taking the present graciously from Ruby.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Belle grumbles. They had gone through the artificial insemination process, not trusting True Love magic to work- after all, they didn’t have the inherent advantage of being the Savior and the Evil Queen to help. They had decided it was best for Belle to carry the children, since they didn’t know what would happen when Ruby turned. But still, it had been a shock when they had discovered it was twins, and the pregnancy was making Belle grumpy.

“Aw, be nice, babe,” Ruby whispers, kissing her wife’s forehead.

“I will. Once these  _ things _ are out of me,” she sighs before plastering on a smile. “Where’s the birthday girl?” Ruby is still slightly offended that Belle referred to their children as ‘things’ but doesn’t have the courage to ask about it (Belle is a scary pregnant lady).

“Emma’s upstairs changing her,” Regina explains. “But don’t wait for her! Come, eat!” Needing no more invitation, Ruby starts to attack the buffet. Belle follows behind her, picking at random combinations of items, her cravings still hitting her hard, even this deep into the third trimester.

“Where’s Lana?” Henry asks, coming up behind his mother. At first, it had been strange for him to have his mothers dating, and even stranger to find out one was pregnant (that had given him mental images he never wanted, or needed). But, he had been very good with his sister, despite all of this.

“Um,” Regina hesitates. She checks her watch, realizing it had been a while since Emma had gone upstairs. “Let me go find her.” She slows on the stairs, hearing her daughter and wife giggling.

“Shhh, Lana, we have to get this on before mommy worries about you,” Emma whispers. Regina raises one eyebrow, but disappears back down the staircase letting Emma have her surprise.

“So, where is she?” Henry asks.

“She’ll come down soon,” is all Regina says before she begins to mingle.

 

It’s half an hour later when Emma finally comes back down.

“Ta da!” Emma grins. 

“Why on earth did this take you so long?” Regina asks, smiling as she takes Lana, fawning over her pink princess dress. It had been an early present from Snow and Charming, a dress up set for their little princess.

“She… may have had a few tantrums. She ripped one, set another on fire, puked on the third. This was our last hope,” Emma admits sheepishly.

“Oh,  _ mija _ . Doesn’t she have her mommy’s magic. And temper,” Regina teases their daughter in a baby voice.

“Just in time! Belle needs sugar before she gets cranky. And she’s starting to get really tired, so she needs a nap. Hate to be a pain, but can we do cake?” Ruby whispers, tickling underneath Lana’s chin.

“Absolutely,” Emma nods.

“But she’s going to get cake all over the dress,” Henry points out. Regina waves her hand and the dress disappears, leaving the giggling girl in just her diaper.

“That took me forever,” Emma whines.

“I’m not cleaning cake off of it. We can put it back on after, dear,” Regina says gently, squeezing her hand as she takes Lana to where the cake waits, placing her in the high chair. They don’t put a candle on the little cake, just singing to her before they put it down. The moment they put it down on the plate, baby Lana smashes her fists into the cake.

“Whoa, doesn’t she get right down to it!” Snow laughs. It’s as Regina is cutting the cake, when she turns to see Emma and Lana playing with the cake, smushing it around on each other’s faces, that she remembers where this all started. She looks around the party, remembering how it had been when Emma had accidentally turned herself and Belle into toddlers. Lana was nearing the age that they had been during the incident, and it was amazing to see the parallels.

Regina turned to offer another piece of cake, and watched Ruby feeding Belle the cake. She’s excited to see the twins, and watch them grow. It’s amazing to her to watch everything that had come out of that experience. People had found their true loves, babies were born, relationships were forged. All that because Emma Swan couldn’t stand the idea of worry lines forming. Regina has to bite back a laugh. 

Their life, and their story was crazy, and hectic, and strange. But she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently, the name Lana actually means queen, or royalty (according to the internet). When I found that out, I couldn't resist naming Regina and Emma's daughter Lana.
> 
> Well, that's a wrap for this one! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, left kudos, or read this story. It means a lot to me that people stuck with it. Now is my moment to shamelessly self-plug and request that you go check out some of my other stuff!

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is basically a fluff piece, with a bit of angst. I'm not entirely sure where this is going, so let me know your ideas! What you want to see, what you think, everything!


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